Meaning & use
biological mother
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
The woman who gave birth to a child, as opposed to an adoptive or stepmother.
Grammar: Countable: a biological mother, two biological mothers.
Patterns
- someone's biological mother
- find one's biological mother
- meet one's biological mother
He decided to search for his biological mother after turning eighteen.
The adoption agency helped her contact her son's biological mother.
My biological mother and my adoptive mother both came to the wedding.
nouncountablemedical
The female parent whose genes a child inherits, in contrast to a social or legal parent.
Grammar: Often used in medical or legal contexts: the biological mother's medical history.
Patterns
- the biological mother of someone
- biological mother's history
Doctors asked about the biological mother's medical history.
In surrogacy, the biological mother may not be the legal mother.
The child knows who her biological mother is but lives with her adoptive family.
Word forms
| plural | biological mothers |
|---|
Common combinations
- find one's biological mother
- She hired a detective to find her biological mother.
- meet one's biological mother
- He was nervous to meet his biological mother for the first time.
- biological mother's medical history
- The doctor asked for the biological mother's medical history.
- search for one's biological mother
- Many adopted adults search for their biological mother.
Synonyms and how they differ
- birth mother
- Very similar, but 'birth mother' emphasizes the act of giving birth and is common in adoption language.
- natural mother
- An older term with the same meaning; now less common and sometimes considered outdated.
Opposites
Word family
- biological father noun
- The man who provided the genes for a child.
- biological parent noun
- A parent related by genes rather than adoption.
- biology noun
- The scientific study of living things.
Commonly confused: biological mother or birth mother? biological mother or adoptive mother?
biological mother vs birth mother
Often used interchangeably, but 'birth mother' is more common in adoption and surrogacy discussions.
biological mother vs adoptive mother
An adoptive mother raises a child legally but is not the biological parent; a biological mother is the one who gave birth.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'biological mother' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Biological mother' is a noun phrase and needs a possessive or article: her biological mother. Option 1 uses it correctly. The other options misuse it grammatically, either as a verb or without the necessary determiner.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “biological mother”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.