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# stepmother

noun (a stepmother, stepmothers)

«stepmother» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

The woman who is married to (or the partner of) your father but is not your birth mother. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stepmother/#m1)

### In the lessons

In family lessons, stepmothers are part of stepfamilies or blended families, formed when a parent remarries after a divorce or a death. Many stepmothers are loving and kind. In fairy tales such as «Cinderella», «Snow White» and «Hansel and Gretel», the «wicked stepmother» is a stock villain — a story pattern, not the truth about real stepmothers.

### Examples

- My stepmother helps me with my homework. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stepmother/#x1)
- Dad married my stepmother when I was six. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stepmother/#x2)
- Cinderella's stepmother made her do all the chores. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stepmother/#x3)
- I call my stepmother by her first name. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stepmother/#x4)
- My stepmother and my mum both came to the school play. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stepmother/#x5)
- Fairy tales often have a wicked stepmother, but mine is lovely. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stepmother/#x6)
- Then her stepmother came back too. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stepmother/#x7)

### Note

Countable; one word. Related: stepfather, stepparent, stepbrother, stepsister, stepchild, stepdaughter, stepson. A «half-sister» shares one parent with you; a «stepsister» shares no parent. Short informal forms: «stepmum» (UK), «stepmom» (USA).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «stepmother» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stepmother/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«stepmother» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/stepmother.html) on Mova free.