bother

American  

[both-er] / ˈbɒð ər /

verb (used with object)

1. to annoy; give trouble to; pester.

   His little sister kept bothering him for candy.

2. to cause unease, anxiety, or worry in (someone).

   I hadn't realized how much being in a small boat bothers me until we got into choppy waters.

   Synonyms:

   disturb, molest, irritate, vex, harass

3. to bewilder; confuse.

   His inability to understand the joke bothered him.

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verb (used without object)

1. to take the trouble; trouble or inconvenience oneself.

   Don't bother to call. He has no time to bother with trifles.

noun

1. something troublesome, burdensome, or annoying.

   Doing the laundry every week can be a terrible bother.

2. effort, work, or worry.

   Gardening takes more bother than it's worth.

3. a worried or perplexed state.

   Don't get into such a bother about small matters.

4. someone or something that bothers or annoys.

   My cousin is a perpetual bother to me.

interjection

1. Chiefly British. (used to express mild irritation.)

bother British  

/ ˈbɒðə /

verb

1. (tr) to give annoyance, pain, or trouble to; irritate

   his bad leg is bothering him again

2. (tr) to trouble (a person) by repeatedly disturbing; pester

   stop bothering your father!

3. (intr) to take the time or trouble; concern oneself

   don't bother to come with me

4. (tr) to make (a person) alarmed or confused

   the thought of her husband's return clearly bothered her

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noun

1. a state of worry, trouble, or confusion

2. a person or thing that causes fuss, trouble, or annoyance

3. informal a disturbance or fight; trouble (esp in the phrase a spot of bother )

interjection

1. an exclamation of slight annoyance

Related Words

Bother, annoy, plague, tease imply persistent interference with one's comfort or peace of mind. Bother suggests causing trouble or weariness or repeatedly interrupting in the midst of pressing duties. To annoy is to vex or irritate by bothering. Plague is a strong word, connoting unremitting annoyance and harassment. To tease is to provoke or irritate persistently with petty distractions.

Other Word Forms

• unbothered adjective
• unbothering adjective

Etymology

Origin of bother

First recorded in 1710–20; origin obscure; originally Hiberno-English; perhaps a hypercorrection of bodder, an alternative early form; perhaps a variant of pother ( def. )

Example Sentences

If nothing else, this conclusion would help to answer a question that has been bothering so-called macro investors all year: What has been causing the divergence between the Japanese yen and Japanese interest rates?

From MarketWatch

On Sunday head coach Brendon McCullum said speculation his job could be on the line if England lose this week "does not really bother me".

From BBC

“Veterans don’t get enough care, and that really bothers me,” says Walsh, whose flight-instructor father was killed while stationed with the Air Force in Japan when Walsh was just 20 months old.

From Los Angeles Times

Kylie told the BBC it had always bothered her that the song wasn't finished.

From BBC

"I'm not bothered when it comes to reselling, people have different tastes and can change the decor," she said.

From BBC

Related Words

• aggravate
• alarm
• bore
• disgust
• dismay
• disturb
• embarrass
• exacerbate
• hinder
• hurt
• irk
• irritate
• nag
• perplex
• perturb
• plague
• scare
• torment
• trouble
• upset