mama

1 of 3

noun (1)

ma·​ma ˈmä-mə How to pronounce mama (audio)
chiefly British mə-ˈmä
variants or less commonly mamma or momma
Synonyms of mamanext
1
: mother
2
slang : wife, woman

mamma

2 of 3

noun (2)

mam·​ma ˈma-mə How to pronounce mamma (audio)
plural mammae ˈma-ˌmē How to pronounce mamma (audio)
-ˌmī
: a mammary gland and its accessory parts

mamma

3 of 3

noun (3)

mam·​ma

less common spelling of mama

1
: mother
2
slang : wife, woman

Synonyms of mama

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Noun (1)

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Examples of mama in a Sentence

Noun (1) I'm not your mama—you'll have to clean up after yourself.
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.
Noun
Your mama [Laraine Newman] was in it. — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 28 May 2026 Was Yara going to be mama-birded into eating more wet bread? — Literary Hub, 19 May 2026
Noun
Elizabeth Banks is one hard-working mamma, and that’s just fine with her. — Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 30 Oct. 2023 Proud mamma Kris Jenner filming the entire show on her phone. — Colleen Barry, Fortune, 25 Sep. 2022 See All Example Sentences for mama

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

baby talk

Noun (2)

borrowed from New Latin, going back to Latin, "breast, udder, mother," nursery word with cognate or parallel formations in other Indo-European languages, as Old Irish muimme "nurse, foster mother," Welsh mam "mother," Russian máma, Lithuanian mamà, momà, Greek mámmē "mother, grandmother," Armenian mam "grandmother," Sanskrit māmaḥ "uncle"

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mama was before the 12th century

Phrases Containing mama

Rhymes for mama

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Browse Nearby Words

MAM
mama
mama's boy
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Cite this Entry

“Mama.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mama. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Kids Definition

mama

noun
ma·​ma
variants also mamma or momma
ˈmäm-ə
: mother entry 1 sense 1a

More from Merriam-Webster on mama

Nglish: Translation of mama for Spanish Speakers

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