stepmother

American  

[step-muhth-er] / ˈstɛpˌmʌð ər /

noun

• stepmothers
  plural

1. the wife, by a later marriage, of one's parent.

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stepmother British  

/ ˈstɛpˌmʌðə /

noun

1. a woman who has married one's father after the death or divorce of one's mother

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• stepmotherliness
  noun
• stepmotherly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• stepmothers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of stepmother

First recorded before 900; Middle English stepmoder, Old English stēopmōdor; step- + mother ¹ ( def. )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stepmother stepmothers

Your stepmother should have laminated your father’s speech.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

My stepmother was sitting right there in her favorite green dress, which she wears to almost every family occasion.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

Six years ago, my father and stepmother gave my husband and me $40,000 to split between our wedding and the down payment on our first house.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

Two of his brothers, his stepmother and his uncle were elected to Congress.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026

Ash shrugged and went to deliver the message, but her stepmother insisted that she bring Ana a boiled egg and some tea.

From "Ash" by Malinda Lo

And you thought spiteful stepmothers wreaked havoc only in fairy tales.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

My tone may sound alarmist, but it’s my attempt to be realistic, especially based on the number of letters I receive from and about stepmothers in this column.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 20, 2026

“You might not have that money, but you have siblings, you have stepmothers, you have mothers — you have relationships and the complexities of blended families.”

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 30, 2022

Whatever rehabilitation wicked stepmothers have undergone of late encounters a setback in “White as Snow.”

From New York Times ● Aug. 12, 2021

Prince Humperdinck was but a child then, and since the only stepmothers he knew were the evil ones from stories, he always called Bella that or “E. S.” for short.

From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman

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