Bother definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary

bother in American English ; 1. to give trouble to; annoy; pester; worry. His baby sister bothered him for candy ; 2. to bewilder; confuse. His inability to ... EnglishDictionary Thesaurus WordLists Grammar EnglishEasyLearningGrammar GrammarPatterns EnglishUsage TeachingResources VideoGuides Conjugations Quiz Englishgrammar Englishcollocations Englishconfusables Englishidioms Englishusage Thematicwordlists English French German Italian Spanish Portuguese Hindi Chinese Korean Definitionof 'bother'    WordFrequency Share× Credits× bother (bɒðəʳ ) Wordforms:3rdpersonsingularpresent tensebothers ,presentparticiplebothering ,pasttense,pastparticiplebothered 1. verb Ifyoudonotbothertodosomethingorifyoudonotbotherwithit,youdonotdoit,considerit,oruseitbecauseyouthinkitisunnecessaryorbecauseyouaretoolazy. Lotsofpeopledon'tbothertogothroughamarriageceremonythesedays.[VERBto-infinitive] Mostofthepapersdidn'tevenbotherreportingit.[VERBverb-ing] NothingIdomakesanydifferenceanyway,sowhybother?[VERB] ...andhedoesnotbotherwithahelmeteither.[V+with/about] Synonyms:concernyourself,takethetime,maketheeffort,gotothetrouble MoreSynonymsofbother 2. uncountablenoun[oftaNOUN] Bothermeanstroubleordifficulty.Youcanalsousebothertorefertoanactivitywhichcausesthis,especiallywhenyouwouldprefernottodoitorgetinvolvedwithit. Iusuallybuyslicedbread–it'slessbother. Thecourtstaketoolongandgoingtothepoliceisabother. Mostmenhatethebotherofshaving. Synonyms:trouble,problem,worry,difficulty MoreSynonymsofbother 3. uncountablenoun Youusebothertorefertoserioustrouble,usuallywhenyouwanttomakeitsoundlessseriousthanitreallyis. [British,informal,vagueness]Vinceishavingaspotofbotherwiththelaw. 4. verb Ifsomethingbothersyou,orifyoubotheraboutit,itworries,annoys,orupsetsyou. Issomethingbotheringyou?[VERBnoun] Thatkindofjealousydoesn'tbotherme.[VERBnoun] Itbotheredmethatboysweren'tinterestedinme.[VERBnounthat] Neverbotheraboutpeople'sopinions.[VERB+about] [AlsoVnwh]Synonyms:trouble,concern,worry,upset MoreSynonymsofbother bothered adjective[verb-linkADJECTIVE]Iwasbotheredabouttheblisteronmyhand.[+about] I'mnotbotheredifhehasanotherchild. 5. verb Ifsomeonebothersyou,theytalktoyouwhenyouwanttobeleftaloneorinterruptyouwhenyouarebusy. Weareplayingatrickonamanwhokeepsbotheringme.[VERBnoun] Idon'tknowwhyhebothersmewiththiskindofrubbish.[Vn+with/about] Synonyms:pester,plague,irritate,putout MoreSynonymsofbother 6. Seebother/botherit 7. Seecan'tbebothered 8. Seeit'snobother 9. hotandbothered COBUILDAdvancedEnglishDictionary.Copyright©HarperCollinsPublishers Video:pronunciationof bother Youmayalsolike EnglishQuizConfusables Synonymsof'bother' LanguageLover'sBlog FrenchTranslationof'bother' Translateyourtext PronunciationPlaylists Wordoftheday:'raclette' HindiTranslationof'bother' NEWfromCollins! EnglishGrammar CollinsApps WordFrequency botherinBritishEnglish (ˈbɒðə ) verb1. (transitive) togiveannoyance,pain,ortroubleto;irritate hisbadlegisbotheringhimagain 2. (transitive) totrouble(aperson)byrepeatedlydisturbing;pester stopbotheringyourfather! 3. (intransitive) totakethetimeortrouble;concernoneself don'tbothertocomewithme 4. (transitive) tomake(aperson)alarmedorconfused thethoughtofherhusband'sreturnclearlybotheredher noun5. astateofworry,trouble,orconfusion 6. apersonorthingthatcausesfuss,trouble,orannoyance 7. informal adisturbanceorfight;trouble(espinthephraseaspotofbother) exclamation8. mainlyBritish anexclamationofslightannoyance CollinsEnglishDictionary.Copyright©HarperCollinsPublishers WordoriginC18:perhapsfromIrishGaelicbodhardeaf,vexed;compareIrishGaelicbuairimIvex WordFrequency botherinAmericanEnglish (ˈbɑðər ) verbtransitive1.  toworryortrouble,esp.withpettyannoyances;harass,pester,etc. 2.  tobewilderorfluster 3.  tocausediscomfortto hersorefootbothersher 4.  todisturb;interrupt verbintransitive5.  totakethetimeandtrouble;concernoneself don'tbothertoreply 6.  tomakeafuss noun7.  acauseorconditionofworryorirritation;trouble;fuss 8.  apersonwhogivestrouble interjection9.  usedtoexpressslightannoyance,worry,etc. SIMILARWORDS: anˈnoy Webster’sNewWorldCollegeDictionary,4thEdition.Copyright©2010by HoughtonMifflinHarcourt.Allrightsreserved. Wordoriginearlierbodder(inSwift);prob.Anglo-Irforpother WordFrequency botherinAmericanEnglish (ˈbɑðər) transitiveverb1. togivetroubleto;annoy;pester;worry Hisbabysisterbotheredhimforcandy 2. tobewilder;confuse Hisinabilitytounderstandthejokebotheredhim intransitiveverb3. totakethetrouble;troubleorinconvenienceoneself Don'tbothertocall Hehasnotimetobotherwithtrifles noun4. somethingtroublesome,burdensome,orannoying Doingthelaundryeveryweekcanbeaterriblebother 5. effort,work,orworry Gardeningtakesmorebotherthanit'sworth 6. aworriedorperplexedstate Don'tgetintosuchabotheraboutsmallmatters 7. someoneorsomethingthatbothersorannoys Mycousinisaperpetualbothertome interjection8. chieflyBrit (usedtoexpressmildirritation) Mostmaterial©2005,1997,1991byPenguinRandomHouseLLC.Modifiedentries©2019 byPenguinRandomHouseLLCandHarperCollinsPublishersLtd Wordorigin[1710–20;orig.Hiberno-E;prob.byhypercorrectionfrombodder,analternateearlyform;orig.obscure] Examplesof'bother'inasentence bother Theseexampleshavebeenautomaticallyselectedandmaycontainsensitivecontent.Readmore… Isshebotheredbypoliceharassmentaswellassurveillance?Times,SundayTimes(2016)Thedreamistellingyouaboutsomethingbotheringyoursubconscious.TheSun(2013)Ifthisbothersyouthenagainyouhavethepowertochangethings.Times,SundayTimes(2006)Notthatitbothersthepolicetoomuch.BrianHoeyATHOMEWITHTHEQUEEN:TheInsideStoryoftheRoyalHousehold(2002)Wecanhardlybebotheredtowatchtheprogrammenow.Times,SundayTimes(2009)Manywastedteachingtimebycomingtoseminarstotallyunpreparedandclearlynothavingbotheredtodoanywork.Times,SundayTimes(2013)Who'sbotheredanywaythedartsarebacksoon!Times,SundayTimes(2013)It'sabotherandaworry.Times,SundayTimes(2015) Trendsof bother Viewusagefor: AllYears Last10years Last50years Last100years Last300years Inotherlanguages bother BritishEnglish:bother /ˈbɒðə/VERBIfyoudonotbothertodosomethingorifyoudonotbotherwithit,youdonotdoit,considerit,oruseitbecauseyouthinkitisunnecessaryorbecauseyouaretoolazy.Lotsofpeopledon'tbothertogothroughamarriageceremony.AmericanEnglish:bother /ˈbɒðər/Arabic:يُقْلَقُ BrazilianPortuguese:incomodar Chinese:打扰 Croatian:zamaratise Czech:obtěžovat(se) Danish:gøresigdenulejlighed Dutch:demoeitenemen EuropeanSpanish:molestarse importunarFinnish:vaivata French:setracasser German:kümmern(sich) Greek:ασχολούμαι Italian:infastidire Japanese:悩ます Korean:괴롭히다 Norwegian:bry Polish:przejmowaćsię EuropeanPortuguese:incomodar Romanian:asederanjaRussian:беспокоить LatinAmericanSpanish:molestar Swedish:besvära Thai:ลำบาก,ยุ่งยากTurkish:zahmetetmek Ukrainian:турбувати(ся)Vietnamese:quấyrầy BritishEnglish:bother NOUN/ˈbɒðə/Bothermeanstroubleordifficulty.Youcanalsousebothertorefertoanactivitywhichcausesthis,especiallywhenyouwouldprefernottodoitorgetinvolvedwithit.AmericanEnglish:bother /ˈbɒðər/BrazilianPortuguese:amolação Chinese:麻烦EuropeanSpanish:molestia French:tracas German:Mühe Italian:seccatura Japanese:面倒Korean:번거로운일EuropeanPortuguese:incómodo LatinAmericanSpanish:molestia Thai:ตัวก่อปัญหา,ความยุ่งยาก Translateyourtextforfree Browsealphabetically bother Botham bothan Bothe bother bother/botherit botheration bothered AllENGLISHwordsthatbeginwith'B' Relatedtermsof bother bother/botherit it'snobother Source DefinitionofbotherfromtheCollinsEnglishDictionary ReadabouttheteamofauthorsbehindCollinsDictionaries. NewfromCollins QuickwordchallengeQuizReviewQuestion:1 - Score:0/5 allowed or aloud?Whichversioniscorrect?ThechildrenarenotallowedtowatchviolentTVprogrammes. ThechildrenarenotaloudtowatchviolentTVprogrammes. role or roll?Dragthecorrectanswerintothebox. role rollBothsideshavea toplay.broach or brooch?Dragthecorrectanswerintothebox. brooch broachTheybothworelargeemerald es.born or borne?Dragthecorrectanswerintothebox. borne bornTheinjuredwere awayinambulances.poor or pore?Dragthecorrectanswerintothebox. poor poreIfeelsorryforthe child.Yourscore:CheckSeetheanswerNextNextquizReview Jan16,2022 Wordoftheday raclette aSwissdishofmeltedcheeseservedonboiledpotatoes SEEFULLDEFINITION SEEPREVIOUSWORDS Signupforournewsletter Getthelatestnewsandgainaccesstoexclusiveupdatesandoffers Signmeup LatestWordSubmissions void Jan13,2022 Vou Jan13,2022 protectedcharact... Jan13,2022 clapped Jan13,2022 ViewMoreSubmit HouseplantWeek Thisweekis#houseplantweek.Whatagloriousthingtocelebrateandcounterthatpotentialpost-Christmaspsychologicalslump.Whensolittleplantlifestirsoutside,it’stimetoturnourhorticulturalgazeindoors. Readmore 9newwordsinCollinsDictionary HereisaselectionofthelatestwordsaddedtoCollinsEnglishDictionaryonline. Readmore NewYear,FreshStart?TheVocabularyofWellbeing WiththeNewYearfastapproaching,CollinsDictionarylooksintowordsrelatingtowell-beingandself-care. Readmore CollinsEnglishDictionaryApps DownloadourEnglishDictionaryapps-availableforbothiOSandAndroid. Readmore CollinsDictionariesforSchools Ournewonlinedictionariesforschoolsprovideasafeandappropriateenvironmentforchildren.Andbestofallit'sadfree,sosignupnowandstartusingathomeorintheclassroom. Readmore Wordlists Wehavealmost200listsofwordsfromtopicsasvariedastypesofbutterflies,jackets,currencies,vegetablesandknots! Amazeyourfriendswithyournew-foundknowledge! Readmore Scrabblescorefor'bother':11 QuickwordchallengeQuizReviewQuestion:1 - Score:0/5 cookie or cake?Whichversioniscorrect?that'sthewaythecookiecrumblesthat'sthewaythecakecrumblesfoot or hand?Whichversioniscorrect?haveyourfootinthetillhaveyourhandinthetillhair or nose?Whichversioniscorrect?getupsomeone'shairgetupsomeone'snoseboots or shoe?Whichversioniscorrect?gettoobigforyourbootsgettoobigforyourshoehorse or mule?Whichversioniscorrect?stubbornasahorsestubbornasamuleYourscore:CheckSeetheanswerNextNextquizReview CreateanaccountandsignintoaccessthisFREEcontent Registernoworlogintoaccess LANGUAGE English EnglishDictionary Thesaurus WordLists Grammar EnglishEasyLearningGrammar GrammarPatterns EnglishUsage TeachingResources VideoGuides Conjugations Quiz Englishgrammar Englishcollocations Englishconfusables Englishidioms Englishusage Thematicwordlists French EnglishtoFrench FrenchtoEnglish Grammar Conjugations Quiz German EnglishtoGerman GermantoEnglish Grammar Conjugations Quiz Italian EnglishtoItalian ItaliantoEnglish Grammar Conjugations Quiz Spanish EnglishtoSpanish SpanishtoEnglish Grammar Conjugations Quiz Portuguese EnglishtoPortuguese PortuguesetoEnglish Grammar Conjugations Hindi EnglishtoHindi HinditoEnglish Chinese EnglishtoChinese ChinesetoEnglish Quiz Korean EnglishtoKorean KoreantoEnglish TRANSLATOR GAMES Quiz Englishgrammar Englishcollocations Englishconfusables Englishidioms Englishusage Thematicwordlists Frenchgrammar Germangrammar Italiangrammar MandarinChinesecharacters Spanishgrammar Scrabble ScrabbleHome Wordchecker Help Tools SCHOOLS HomeSchool PrimarySchool SecondarySchool BLOG RESOURCES Resources CollinsWordoftheDay PaulNobleMethod VideoPronunciations WordoftheYear