mothering

American

[muhth-er-ing] / ˈmʌð ər ɪŋ /

noun

the nurturing of a child by a mother or in the way that a mother does.

I'm so relieved to be finally able to do the mothering of my children in my own home.
the act of caring for or protecting like a mother, sometimes in an excessive way.

Even though her cold wasn't better yet, she was getting tired of his mothering.
(in rural England) the custom of visiting one's parents on Laetare Sunday with a present.

Etymology

Origin of mothering

First recorded in 1640–50; mother ¹ + -ing ¹

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.

“Kin,” set in the segregated South in the 1950s and ’60s, focuses on the crucial importance of mothering, sisterhood and close female friendships in young women’s lives.

From The Wall Street Journal

In her new Netflix movie “Goodbye June,” she’s the one who needs mothering.

From The Wall Street Journal

Now, not everyone who is a mother by having a baby is necessarily a “mothering mother.”

From Los Angeles Times

Some of the people I know who have the most amazing mothering energy, who mother me the most, are people who don’t have kids.

From Los Angeles Times

"I have always had a mothering instinct," she says, "but for years I had been suppressing it because it was too painful to go there."

From BBC

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