bothered; bothering
ˈbät͟h-riŋ,
ˈbä-t͟hə-
1
: to annoy especially by petty provocation : irk
It bothers her when people litter.
bothered by the itchy tag on his shirt
2
: to intrude upon : pester
Don't bother him when he's working.
3
: to cause to be somewhat anxious or concerned
My stomach is bothering me.
—often used interjectionallyOh, bother!
1
: to become concerned
wouldn't bother with details
2
: to take pains (see pain entry 1 sense 3) : take the trouble
never bothered to ask
1
a
: a state of petty discomfort, annoyance, or worry
when scenery gets mixed up with our personal bothers all the virtue goes out of it—
Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton
b
: something that causes petty annoyance or worry
Fixing it would be too much of a bother.
Sorry to be such a bother, but I need your help.
2
: fuss, inconvenience
doesn't want the bother of filling out all the forms again
Synonyms
Verb
Noun
- ado
- alarums and excursions
- ballyhoo
- blather
- bluster
- bobbery
- bustle
- clatter
- clutter [chiefly dialect]
- coil
- commotion
- corroboree [Australian]
- disturbance
- do [chiefly dialect]
- foofaraw
- fun
- furor
- furore
- fuss
- helter-skelter
- hoo-ha
- hoo-hah
- hoopla
- hubble-bubble
- hubbub
- hullabaloo
- hurly
- hurly-burly
- hurricane
- hurry
- hurry-scurry
- hurry-skurry
- kerfuffle [chiefly British]
- moil
- pandemonium
- pother
- row
- ruckus
- ruction
- rumpus
- shindy
- splore [Scottish]
- squall
- stew
- stir
- storm
- to-do
- tumult
- turmoil
- uproar
- welter
- whirl
- williwaw
- zoo
Examples of bother in a Sentence
Verb
He's so easygoing. Nothing seems to bother him.
Something he said at the meeting has been bothering me.
The entire car trip was filled with complaints like, “Mom, David keeps bothering me!” and “Will you tell him to quit bothering me?”.
Mother used to cook elaborate dinners, but with only herself to cook for, she doesn't bother anymore.
“Should I call later?” “No, don't bother.”
I'm not going to bother with the details.
Noun
Replacing the windows could be more of a bother than it's worth.
I know what a bother driving into the city can be this time of day.
“Sorry to bother you.” “That's okay, it's no bother at all.”
I considered replacing that part of the floor but decided it wasn't worth the bother.
He doesn't want the bother of filling out all those forms again.
Will you mail this for me? It will save me the bother of going to the post office.
Recent Examples on the Web
Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024
Advertisement Martha Stewart is an ‘unreliable narrator’ but also ‘a visionary,’ documentary director says: R.J. Cutler, the director of Netflix’s ‘Martha,’ discussed his film about the lifestyle guru and businesswoman and how he isn’t bothered by her criticism of it.
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2024
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
The pair find themselves in trouble after a hazing incident goes wrong, and attempt to lie, deceive and seduce their way out of bother.
—Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bother 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
Does Miss Manners have a suggestion for a polite way of indicating that, since they couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge the first gift, subsequent gifts should not be solicited?
—Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024
Advertisement Martha Stewart is an ‘unreliable narrator’ but also ‘a visionary,’ documentary director says: R.J. Cutler, the director of Netflix’s ‘Martha,’ discussed his film about the lifestyle guru and businesswoman and how he isn’t bothered by her criticism of it.
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
Taylor Swift's brother Austin came to the rescue after a fan got into a spot of bother with security staff at one of his sister's shows.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
The pair find themselves in trouble after a hazing incident goes wrong, and attempt to lie, deceive and seduce their way out of bother.
—Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bother
Dictionary Entries Near bother
Cite this Entry
“Bother.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bother. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bother
2 of 2 noun1
a
: the state of being bothered
b
: someone or something that bothers in a small way
what a bother a cold can be
2
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