stepmother

stepmother — noun

1. a woman who has married a person's father and lives with the family, without bei

1.nounB2
Definition

a woman who has married a person's father and lives with the family, without being that person's biological mother

Example

Tariro's stepmother helped her with homework every evening after school.

possessive + stepmother (Tariro's stepmother)

Bilal grew close to his stepmother after his father remarried when he was nine.

Common collocations
  • kind stepmother
  • cruel stepmother
  • future stepmother
  • become a stepmother
Synonyms
  • stepmom

    informal, used mainly in American English

  • stepmum

    informal, used mainly in British English

  • father's wife

    a descriptive phrase rather than a fixed term; less personal than 'stepmother'

Antonyms

Usage Note

Typically used with a possessive determiner (my, his, her, their) or a noun in possessive form (e.g., Tariro's stepmother). In fairy tales the 'wicked stepmother' is a common character, but in modern usage the term is a neutral family descriptor.

Common Mistakes

My step mother lives next door.
My stepmother lives next door.
'stepmother' is one word, not two.
My stepmother is my mother's new husband.
My stepmother is my father's new wife.
'stepmother' is the wife of one's father, not the spouse of one's mother.

Word family

  • stepmom
    nounB2
  • stepmum
    nounB2
  • stepfather
    nounB2
  • stepchild
    nounB2
  • stepsister
    nounB2
  • stepbrother
    nounB2
  • stepfamily
    nounB2
  • stepparent
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Stepmother is the standard formal term for a woman married to one's father who is not the birth mother. 'Stepmom' is the informal American variant, used in casual conversation and everyday writing. 'Stepmum' serves the same informal function in British English. 'Step-parent' is a broader, gender-neutral term covering both stepmothers and stepfathers, useful when speaking generally about blended-family dynamics. For example: 'My stepmom taught me how to make pancakes' (casual tone) versus 'His stepmother attended the parent-teacher meeting' (neutral to formal). The phrase 'father's wife' is merely descriptive and carries none of the parenting association that 'stepmother' implies.

stepmother ↗stepmomstepmumstep-parent

Common collocations

Nouns

  • stepmother figure
  • stepmother role

Adverbs

Phrases

  • wicked stepmother
  • future stepmother

Prepositions

  • to (stepmother to three children)

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'stepmother' comes from Old English 'steopmodor', where 'steop-' meant 'orphaned' or 'bereaved'. Originally the term described a mother who entered the family after the birth mother had died. Over time the meaning broadened to cover remarriage for any reason, including divorce. The 'step-' prefix is related to words for 'loss' in other Germanic languages.