parent

American  

[pair-uhnt, par-] / ˈpɛər ənt, ˈpær- /

noun

parents plural

1. a father or a mother.

2. an ancestor, precursor, or progenitor.

3. a source, origin, or cause.

4. a protector or guardian.

5. Biology. any organism that produces or generates another.

6. Physics. the first nuclide in a radioactive series.

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adjective

1. being the original source.

   a parent organization.

2. Biology. pertaining to an organism, cell, or complex molecular structure that generates or produces another.

   parent cell;

   parent DNA.

verb (used with object)

1. to be or act as parent of.

   to parent children with both love and discipline.

parent British  

/ ˈpɛərənt /

noun

1. a father or mother

2. a person acting as a father or mother; guardian

3. rare an ancestor

4. a source or cause

5. 1. an organism or organization that has produced one or more organisms or organizations similar to itself

   2. ( as modifier )

      a parent organism

6. physics chem

   1. a precursor, such as a nucleus or compound, of a derived entity

   2. ( as modifier )

      a parent nucleus

      a parent ion

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonparent
  noun
• parenthood
  noun
• parentless
  adjective
• parentlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• parents
  plural

Etymology

Origin of parent

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin parent-, stem of parēns, noun use of present participle of parere “to bring forth, breed”

Explanation

A parent is a mother or father. Your mom and your dad are your parents, and one of their jobs is to parent you. We're all born to parents, and many of us also have step parents, foster parents, or adoptive parents who parent us. You might also use parent to talk about plants and animals; maybe your new puppy's parents were dog show champions, for example. Things that act as the source or owner of something else are also parents, like a parent company that owns the local bookshop. The Latin root is parere, "give birth to, produce."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parent parents

In another case, the parent was stunned by how awful it was.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Google parent Alphabet’s stock fell almost 7% after it reported quarterly earnings last week that included a $10 billion hike in capital spending to around $200 billion this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

“Our capital position and liquidity remain strong, and our financial strength ratings are unchanged,” Group 1001, the insurers’ parent company, said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

But the method is now gaining popularity, with Alphabet, Google's parent company, seeking approval to release up to 64 million Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in California and Florida.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

“You will see your parent again,” Jiichan agreed.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata

Becca expects to inherit a significant amount of property from her parents, which she wants to protect, so in the event of a split, each will walk away with what they started with.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Critics claim the better outcomes result from cherry-picking better students with “more motivated” parents at home.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Out of school for the summer, some kids chase each other around vendor booths while others snore in strollers next to their parents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Lawyers say a desire to avoid repeating the pain of a previous separation, or the messy splits that they saw their parents go through, is a prime motivation for many couples.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

“Hey. I wouldn’t be a good BFF if I didn’t say it. You’ll do the same for me when I’m thirty and my parents finally let me date.”

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Related Words

• father
• mother