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

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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”

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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

Another parent told BBC Scotland News his daughter was "rummaging in a food waste bin" at nursery after spending mornings at Mathewson's home.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

Every parent will have to navigate those feelings in big and small ways.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

I plan to work less and parent more as my wife returns to a full-time office job.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

Italian designer Pierpaolo Piccioli has quit as creative director at Balenciaga, the fashion house's parent company Kering said Thursday.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

Carmen wasn’t the only kid at school who’d lost a parent.

From "I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919" by Lauren Tarshis

He recalled last attending church at 15, with his parents.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

The home secretary's parents immigrated from Kashmir, and Khan's from Pakistan.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

The university engaged more aggressively with parents, in addition to an already-deployed chatbot that answers registration questions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

"Schools are writing directly to parents and carers with relevant information and advice and are reviewing whether any additional security measures are required."

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

One afternoon while Celia was at field hockey practice, my parents were arguing in the kitchen while I eavesdropped from upstairs.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

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Related Words

• father
• mother

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