mom

¹

[ mom ]

noun

1. a person’s mother or one’s mother.
2. a term of endearment used to refer to a woman or girl who is admired: She came on stage at the beginning of the concert, and I was like, MOM.

   Obviously she has no kids, but she is such a mom.

   She came on stage at the beginning of the concert, and I was like, MOM.

   All her friends call her “mom” even though she just started middle school.

adjective

1. beautiful or stylish; amazing; to be admired: She’s so mom in that movie.

   That outfit is mom!

   She’s so mom in that movie.

verb (used with object)

1. to act as a mother toward; act maternally toward, sometimes in an excessive way: I think I just got mommed by my cat.

   She just mommed me with advice.

   I think I just got mommed by my cat.

   She totally mommed those bullies.

2. to refer to (an admired woman or girl) as “mom”:

   My friends mommed the selfie I just posted.

verb (used without object)

1. to perform the tasks or duties of a female parent; act maternally, sometimes in an excessive way: She mommed out hard after I came home late.

   I like the way she moms.

   She mommed out hard after I came home late.

2. (of a woman or girl) to refer to an admired woman or girl as “mom”:

   Whenever I comment on photos of my friends, I mom.

m.o.m.

²

abbreviation for

1. middle of month.

mom

/ mɒm /

noun

1. an informal word for mother 1

Word History and Origins

Origin of mom¹

First recorded in 1845–50; short for momma

Example Sentences

Before Wen Jiahan, a 30-year-old tech worker living in Beijing, came out to her family this year, she watched videos similar to those that Shi, Teddy’s mom, shared online.

From Los Angeles Times

“Every single person who saw the documentary had the same feeling: ‘I need to call my mom, I need to call my dad, I need to call my grandma, grandpa; I need to spend more time with my kids.’

From Los Angeles Times

She remembers sitting at the kitchen table doing her homework when her mom fell and Rigelhaupt didn’t respond the way her mom thought she should.

From Los Angeles Times

I nourish a sense of satisfaction with the simple accomplishments of the day; getting up early, making coffee for my mom and me, walking, performing some activism, reminding myself that “movement of the muscles overcomes the defeatist babble of the brain.”

From Salon

“A lot of what I talk about on stage is dating on the back half of life and being a single divorced mom,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• grandmother
• mommy
• parent