mother country

1
as in birthplace
a place of origin Greece can boast to being the mother country of democracy

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2
as in home
the land of one's birth, residence, or citizenship even after decades of living in their adopted nation, they maintained a strong attachment to the mother country

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of mother country The prime minister of Greenland called on the country to strive for greater independence from its mother country, Denmark, in a New Year’s address delivered this week, in light of the controversy surrounding President-elect Donald Trump’s calls for the U.S. to purchase the island. Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 3 Jan. 2025 Korea, director Bong’s mother country, was our first choice in terms of where to debut the film. Patrick Frater, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024 In my mother country, all the tools of propaganda would keep painful truths at bay. Vadim Smyslov, WIRED, 21 Feb. 2024 Their sources of intelligence repeatedly assured British leaders that the great majority of the colonists remained loyal to the mother country. T.h. Breen, The New York Review of Books, 2 Feb. 2023 See All Example Sentences for mother country
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother country
Noun
  • The country is also the birthplace of bubble tea, now a global phenomenon.
    Iona Brannon, Travel + Leisure, 16 Apr. 2025
  • New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans is the undisputed birthplace of jazz, where the genre was created by the same cross-cultural collisions that brought us gumbo and Mardi Gras.
    Nicholas DeRenzo, AFAR Media, 21 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • According to the lawsuit, the leak caused gas to seep into nearby homes and businesses unchecked through the air and top soil — including the Cunningham home a block away — for more than 3 1/2 hours.
    Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2025
  • More than half a dozen tornadoes have been confirmed, including one in Marshall County, Oklahoma, that left two homes completely destroyed and damaged about 20 others.
    Christopher Cann, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Lina Zeldovich November 6, 2018 The cradle of civilization may not support our civilization anymore.
    The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 22 Apr. 2025
  • Soon, a humble little rock cradle appears, painstakingly assembled and fiercely defended.
    Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • It's been just a tremendous loser for this country.
    Bonnie Bolden, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2025
  • An independent commission to investigate the attacks held 19 days of public hearings, reviewed 2.5 million pages of documents, interviewed more than 1,200 people in 10 different countries and produced a 567-page document.
    New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 28 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Mother country.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mother%20country. Accessed 2 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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