mothering

American  

[muhth-er-ing] / ˈmʌð ər ɪŋ /

noun

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. (in rural England) the custom of visiting one's parents on Laetare Sunday with a present.

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Etymology

Origin of mothering

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

Example Sentences

“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 • Feb. 27, 2026

I just really, like, I can’t imagine mothering without their help, because they’re just so in tune to each other.

From Salon • Nov. 2, 2025

"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 • Apr. 7, 2025

How did you approach the different kinds of mothering?

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2023

When I was eight, I found it weird how she was credited as a “beloved” mother when the only mothering she did was carry me for nine months; ten years later, I know much better.

From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera