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

The serene Drew household consists of Hannah the cook and Nancy’s widower father, Carson, who works too hard to meet a prospective stepmother.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

The author’s ill-matched father and mother are saints; his stepmother, Raine Spencer, a sinner.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The show also stars Tamzin Outhwaite as Anna's stepmother and Steffan Rhodri, best known for playing Dave Coaches in Gavin & Stacey, as Anna's father.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

At the dinner table, Wendy looks and acts more like one of the kids than their potential stepmother, especially when she makes Jack promise to make pancakes in the morning.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

I’ve never truly bonded with Serena as a stepmother.

From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman

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

Such was the life of Delia Fiallo, who said she was “born to write telenovelas,” the Spanish-language soap operas in which love usually conquers all, including class divides and disapproving stepmothers.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 30, 2021

Mother looked him directly in the eyes and said, “Your father is a good man and he loves you very much. He just seems to attract the wrong stepmothers for you boys.”

From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah

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