mother of

Idioms

The best or greatest of a type, as in That was the mother of all tennis matches. This expression originated during the Gulf War as a translation of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's term umm al-ma'arik, for “major battle”; the Arabic “mother of” is a figure of speech for “major” or “best.” It was quickly adopted and applied to just about any person, event, or activity. [Slang; late 1980s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The mother of a man who suffered severe brain damage due to diabetes says she wants to "create happy memories" by bringing him home to be close to his family on the Isle of Man.

From BBC

"As a Lebanese, I am traumatised," a 31-year-old expat and mother of two living in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, told AFP.

From Barron's

"This is my life now," said Molly Doroban, a software engineer and mother of three living in Florida, who said she saw a Google ad and got "sucked into" micro-dramas.

From BBC

Joanna Coles, a successful editor in media and mother of two, identifies not having additional children as her biggest mistake.

From The Wall Street Journal

Necessity is the mother of innovation.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023