bother

1 of 2

verb

both·​er ˈbä-t͟hər How to pronounce bother (audio)
bothered; bothering
ˈbät͟h-riŋ,
ˈbä-t͟hə- How to pronounce bother (audio)

transitive verb

1
: to annoy especially by petty provocation : irk
It bothers her when people litter.
bothered by the itchy tag on his shirt
2
: to intrude upon : pester
Don't bother him when he's working.
3
: to cause to be somewhat anxious or concerned
My stomach is bothering me.
often used interjectionally
Oh, bother!

intransitive verb

1
: to become concerned
wouldn't bother with details
2
: to take pains (see pain entry 1 sense 3) : take the trouble
never bothered to ask

bother

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: a state of petty discomfort, annoyance, or worry
when scenery gets mixed up with our personal bothers all the virtue goes out of itEdith Wharton
b
: something that causes petty annoyance or worry
Fixing it would be too much of a bother.
Sorry to be such a bother, but I need your help.
2
: fuss, inconvenience
doesn't want the bother of filling out all the forms again
Choose the Right Synonym for bother

annoy, vex, irk, bother mean to upset a person's composure.

annoy implies a wearing on the nerves by persistent petty unpleasantness.

their constant complaining annoys us

vex implies greater provocation and stronger disturbance and usually connotes anger but sometimes perplexity or anxiety.

vexed by her son's failure to clean his room

irk stresses difficulty in enduring and the resulting weariness or impatience of spirit.

careless waste irks the boss

bother suggests interference with comfort or peace of mind.

don't bother me while I'm reading

Examples of bother in a Sentence

Verb He's so easygoing. Nothing seems to bother him. Something he said at the meeting has been bothering me. The entire car trip was filled with complaints like, “Mom, David keeps bothering me!” and “Will you tell him to quit bothering me?”.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
The company started to bring on editors who seemed less bothered by the PFC model. Liz Pelly, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025 She was not bothered by the 50-degree morning in Pasadena — which, to many of the Southern Californians in attendance, qualified as chilly. Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2025
Noun
Practically speaking, this can include: Finding The Right Balance Of User Convenience And Data Security As mentioned above, a major cause of users setting overly wide access permissions is to avoid the bother of addressing subsequent individual access requests. Adam Gavish, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024 Holloway and Broberg could be on a new team by this time next week, and the Oilers are officially in a spot of bother. Allan Mitchell, The Athletic, 14 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for bother 

Word History

Etymology

Verb

of obscure origin

Note: Early attestations strongly associate the word with Ireland, though if bother is authentically Hiberno-English, the interdental consonant must be secondary, perhaps by association with earlier pother entry 1, itself of obscure origin. A hypothetical link with Irish bodhar "deaf, confused" is improbable given that the internal dental consonant in Irish was lost by 1300.

Noun

noun derivative of bother entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

circa 1745, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1761, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of bother was circa 1745

Dictionary Entries Near bother

Cite this Entry

“Bother.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bother. Accessed 16 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

bother

1 of 2 verb
both·​er ˈbät͟h-ər How to pronounce bother (audio)
bothered; bothering -(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce bother (audio)
1
a
: to upset often with minor details : annoy
b
: to intrude upon : interrupt
2
a
: to cause to be worried or concerned
b
: to become concerned
3
: to take the trouble : make an effort
don't bother to knock

bother

2 of 2 noun
1
a
: the state of being bothered
b
: someone or something that bothers in a small way
what a bother a cold can be
2

More from Merriam-Webster on bother

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