English Explanatory Dictionary

bother

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To annoy, to disturb, to irritate; to be troublesome to, to make trouble for.
  2. Damn; curse.
  3. To feel care or concern; to burden or inconvenience oneself out of concern.
  4. To take the trouble, to trouble oneself (to do something).
  5. To do something which is of negligible inconvenience.
noun
  1. Fuss, ado.
  2. Trouble, inconvenience.
intj
  1. A mild expression of annoyance.

Pronunciation

/ˈbɔðə(ɹ)/ /ˈbɒðə(ɹ)/ bŏʹ-thər /ˈbɑðɚ/ en-uk-bother.ogg

Word forms

bother bothers bothering bothered bother!

Etymology

Borrowed from Scots bauther, bather (“to bother”). Origin unknown. Perhaps related to Scots pother (“to make a stir or commotion, bustle”), also of unknown origin. Compare English pother (“to poke, prod”), variant of potter (“to poke”). More at potter. Perhaps related to Irish bodhaire (“noise”), Irish bodhraim (“to deafen, annoy”).

Synonyms

annoy disturb inconvenience irritate put out vex aggravate nettle rankle ruffle sting antagonize bother disgruntle botherate bug get grate burn up bedevil cheese off devil exasperate frustrate get up grotch hack off hassle irk jazz molest mommick nark nerve pee off peeve persecute pique piss off provoke rile rile up roil storm test someone's patience tick off trouble try one's patience wind up Idioms: boil someone's piss chap someone's hide get on someone's nerves get on someone's tits get on someone's wick get someone's back up get someone's dander up get someone's goat get someone's Irish up get someone's nanny

Derived words

bebother be bothered botherance botheration bothered botherer botherless botherment bother one's arse bothersome father-bother merger not a bother on someone spot of bother

Translations

Arabic: كلف Chinese Mandarin: 費事 /费事 Dutch: moeite doen Estonian: vaevuma Estonian: vaeva nägema Finnish: jaksaa Finnish: vaivautua Finnish: viitsiä Finnish: huvittaa French: bâdrer German: Mühe machen German: bemühen Hebrew: טרח Hebrew: הטריח את עצמו Hungarian: veszi a fáradságot Italian: disturbarsi Italian: prendersi la briga Italian: preoccuparsi Māori: whakatōwenewene Norwegian: gidde Portuguese: dar-se ao trabalho Spanish: molestarse en Spanish: tomarse la molestia de Thai: ก่อกวน Turkish: uğraşmak Turkish: zahmet etmek Venetan: preocuparse
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