English Reference

Word

parent

Phoneticspar·ent, stress on the first syllable

US/ˈpɛɹənt/

UK/pˈeəɹənt/

Definitions

01mother or father

A1 · Beginner Countable noun

n. a person who is the mother or father of a child, or someone who raises a child as their own.

n. a person who has produced offspring or who acts as a legal guardian in a child-rearing capacity.

“The school invited every parent to attend the meeting about the new playground.”

“Modern family structures often include a stepparent or a legal guardian who fulfills the role of a primary parent without a biological link.”

Synonyms

Antonyms

02source or origin

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun

n. the thing or organization from which something else comes.

n. the source, origin, or cause from which something is derived; often used for companies that own smaller ones.

“The small local shop is actually owned by a large parent company in London.”

“The parent company decided to divest its smaller subsidiaries to focus on its core manufacturing business.”

Synonyms

Antonyms

03computing/data

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Computing Technical

n. in a computer system, an object or folder that contains other items.

n. a node in a data structure that is superior to another node, or an object from which others are derived.

“If you delete the parent folder, all the files inside it will be lost.”

“The algorithm traverses the tree by checking each child node before returning to the parent node to continue the search.”

Antonyms

04physics/biology

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Science Technical

n. the original organism or atom that produces a new one.

n. an organism or nuclide from which another is biologically descended or physically derived through decay.

“The parent plant has red flowers, but the new seeds might grow white ones.”

“In radioactive decay, the parent nuclide transforms into a more stable daughter isotope over a specific half-life period.”

Synonyms

Antonyms

05to raise a child

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to take care of a child and help them grow up.

v. to perform the duties or functions of a parent; to rear or bring up offspring.

“It can be very difficult to parent a teenager who wants more independence.”

“Psychologists often study how different cultures parent their children to understand the development of social norms.”

Synonyms

Antonyms

Usage

Commonly used in the plural when referring to both a mother and father together.

Word family

Related words

The word in film

Poster for The Parent Trap

Poster: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Parent Trap · 1961 · Comedy

Directed by:
David Swift
Starring:
Hayley Mills, Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith

David Swift directs this classic Disney family comedy starring Hayley Mills in dual roles as identical twin sisters separated at birth who discover each other at summer camp. The title names the estranged mother and father whose stubborn pride the precocious girls endeavor to overcome.

Domains

BiologyComputingPhysicsProgramming

This entry

Exam level
CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A1 MoversIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.2.0–3.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 1.0–1.50–23TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.120–224
Frequency
Common
Level
A1 · BeginnerOxford
Updated

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