Meaning & use

stepmother

noun·Everyday

The wife of one's parent, when that person is not one's biological mother.

See it in a sentence

His stepmother baked him a cake for his birthday every year without fail.

The fairy tale portrays the stepmother as cruel and jealous.

A note on using this word

Stepmother is distinct from a foster mother or adoptive mother, both of which involve a different legal relationship to the child.

Words with a similar meaning

This term is best learned through its definition and examples.

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

biological mother

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