bother
verbnouninterjectioncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈbɒðə(ɹ)//
- United States//ˈbɑðɚ//
- Australia//ˈbɔðə(ɹ)//
To annoy, to disturb, to irritate; to be troublesome to, to make trouble for.
verb
- 1
To annoy, to disturb, to irritate; to be troublesome to, to make trouble for.
Would it bother you if I smoked?
- 2
To annoy, to disturb, to irritate; to be troublesome to, to make trouble for. Damn; curse.
- 3
To feel care or concern; to burden or inconvenience oneself out of concern.
I never bother about such trivialities.
I wouldn't bother with an umbrella if I were you.
To expand, without bothering about it—without shiftless timidity on one side, or loquacious eagerness on the other—to the full compass of what he would have called a "pleasant" experience, was Newman's most definite programme of life.
- 4
To take the trouble, to trouble oneself (to do something).
Why do I even bother to try?
- 5
To take the trouble, to trouble oneself (to do something). To do something which is of negligible inconvenience.
You didn’t even bother to close the door.
Etymology
Borrowed from Scots bauther, bather (“to bother”). Origin unknown. Perhaps related to Scots pother (“to make a stir or commotion, bustle”), also of unknown origin. Compare English pother (“to poke, prod”), variant of potter (“to poke”). More at potter. Perhaps related to Irish bodhaire (“noise”), Irish bodhraim (“to deafen, annoy”).
noun
- 1
Fuss, ado.
There was a bit of bother at the hairdresser's when they couldn't find my appointment in the book.
It was a 15-minute return trip to walk back home to pick up my device, but I weighed it up and decided that it wasn’t worth the bother.
- 2
Trouble, inconvenience.
Yes, I can do that for you—it’s no bother.
interjection
- 1
datedA mild expression of annoyance.
She flung off her sealskin paletot and the beautiful felt hat, not heeding that they rolled off the untidy bed upon the floor. / “Sarah,” whispered Mrs. Malone, “what you goin’ to do? Look at your elegant clothes on the floor.” / “Oh, bother!” retorted Sarah.
[H]e suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said "Bother!" and "Oh blow!" and also "Hang spring-cleaning!" and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat.
"Oh, help!" said Pooh. "I'd better go back." "Oh, bother!" said Pooh. "I shall have to go on." "I can't do either!" said Pooh. "Oh, help and bother!"
Forms
- plural
- bothers
- past tense
- bothered
- past participle
- bothered
- present participle
- bothering
- third person singular
- bothers
bother · To annoy, to disturb, to irritate; to be troublesome to, to make trouble for.
bothered · Annoyed; irritated.bothering · That bothers; annoying, irritating.bottle · A container, typically made of glass or plastic and having a…