How to Use bother in a Sentence

bother

1 of 2 verb
  • I'm not going to bother with the details.
  • Something he said at the meeting has been bothering me.
  • Mother used to cook elaborate dinners, but with only herself to cook for, she doesn't bother anymore.
  • He's so easygoing. Nothing seems to bother him.
  • The entire car trip was filled with complaints like, “Mom, David keeps bothering me!” and “Will you tell him to quit bothering me?”.
  • If your loose skin bothers you, here's what to do next.
    Amanda MacMillan, Health, 2 Nov. 2023
  • Like, why do the other girls even bother at this point?
    Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2023
  • The thing that always bothered me [with other brands] was that there would be a seam up the front.
    Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 14 Aug. 2023
  • These shoes did take a few days to get used to and the heel bothered our expert’s ankle.
    Sherri Gordon, Health, 28 Aug. 2023
  • Ask your other neighbors if they, too, are bothered by the noise.
    Amy Dickinson, oregonlive, 3 Sep. 2023
  • He’s got plenty of ideas, and he can’t be bothered with someone else’s.
    Anne Branigin, Washington Post, 29 May 2023
  • Either way, the studio never bothered to adapt the last three books.
    Selome Hailu, Variety, 18 Oct. 2023
  • The Pogues didn’t bother with the authentic trad style of the Chieftains or De Danann — more like a wedding band gone berserk.
    Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 1 Dec. 2023
  • And in many of these cases, doctors will not bother to order a blood test.
    Helen Branswell, STAT, 15 Feb. 2024
  • If the odds of winning the lottery are so low, why do people bother playing?
    USA TODAY, 8 Aug. 2023
  • Cowell's criticism was mean, but the words didn't seem to bother Hung.
    Gillian Telling, Peoplemag, 14 Jan. 2024
  • Not being bothered, not talking to anybody on the phone.
    Julie Jordan, Peoplemag, 5 July 2023
  • And why didn’t any Bronze Agers bother to retrieve all that soggy stuff?
    Franz Lidz, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2024
  • There’s no full proof way to not be bothered on vacation.
    Sean McDonnell, cleveland, 12 July 2023
  • The second type of flying vehicle doesn't even bother with the road.
    Christopher Elliott, USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2024
  • The question of why Jeff Bezos, a man who can afford not to bother, wants to own the Washington Post haunts the pages of this book.
    Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2023
  • Months after the wedding, the woman shared in the post how she was still bothered by the situation.
    Jordan Greene, Peoplemag, 5 Mar. 2024
  • And don't bother shrinking it with a hairdryer as the instructions say.
    Matt Jancer, WIRED, 15 Oct. 2023
  • But the Eros is sick, man is uneasy, something is bothering him.
    Armond White, National Review, 4 Oct. 2023
  • The cushioned heel and toe are super comfy and won’t bother their feet, while the breathable mesh on the top of the sock helps banish stinky tween feet.
    Maya Polton, Parents, 28 Mar. 2024
  • With buffalo chicken bites this easy and good, who wants to bother with wing bones?
    Melissa Gray, Southern Living, 17 Dec. 2023
  • As a young actor, Dunst didn’t have the confidence to speak up when things bothered her.
    Zack Sharf, Variety, 5 Mar. 2024
  • My dad used to always trick me into finding things out that he couldn’t be bothered to.
    Jesse Ball, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
  • Shelton said Djokovic’s end-of-match gesture didn’t bother him.
    Howard Fendrich, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2023
  • However, the low-scoring game didn’t bother Panthers coach Paul Maurice at all.
    Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2024
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bother

2 of 2 noun
  • He doesn't want the bother of filling out all those forms again.
  • I know what a bother driving into the city can be this time of day.
  • Replacing the windows could be more of a bother than it's worth.
  • Will you mail this for me? It will save me the bother of going to the post office.
  • I considered replacing that part of the floor but decided it wasn't worth the bother.
  • Both of us agree the shrimp is sweet and springy and the fried chicken is a why bother.
    Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 25 Nov. 2022
  • The couple could sit on the deck, and even in the shade of their trees, without bother.
    Lauren Markham, Harper's Magazine, 16 Mar. 2021
  • But the changes that have come with these names are hardly a bother.
    Teo Armus, Washington Post, 31 July 2022
  • That saved them the cost of storage — or the bother of throwing them out.
    BostonGlobe.com, 16 June 2021
  • But why might any of this bother the high court’s justices?
    Thomas Geoghegan, The New Republic, 14 June 2021
  • Restaurants aren’t just places that save you the bother of cooking at home.
    Ed Caesar, The New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2022
  • Deanna Laws, who lives about a mile from the mine on New Salem Road, said the mine was never a huge bother.
    Kevin Williams, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Mar. 2022
  • Montes’ stint with the Yard Goats brought Diaz and her bother for the first time in 50 years back to Hartford -- the city that had been their safe haven.
    Dom Amore, courant.com, 8 Aug. 2021
  • Decent action from shore and boat but winds from the southeast have been a bother.
    sacbee, 18 Dec. 2017
  • Her bother started selling drugs, and his business grew as the years went on.
    Adam Ferrise, cleveland, 28 Feb. 2021
  • If — one is — going to have a fight with somebody else — why bother and — have a meeting?
    NBC News, 14 June 2021
  • Humidity was enough to be felt but not too much of a bother.
    Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 1 Aug. 2022
  • Humidity is up a bit — enough to be felt but not a huge bother.
    Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 10 Sep. 2022
  • Sorry to be a bother, RMV employees, but some of us have work to return to, kids to pick up, places to be.
    Shirley Leung, BostonGlobe.com, 6 June 2018
  • The good news is that Mr. Pence isn’t likely to let these latest criticisms from the left bother him too much.
    William McGurn, WSJ, 8 Mar. 2021
  • A couple of them can't really get a line out without a lot of grumbly fuss and bother.
    Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, 16 May 2017
  • The walls around the portrait are covered in splendid rivals, but no one bothers.
    Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 2 June 2023
  • Beer exported to the mainland must find its way over six miles of rough seas (which, Sam points out, saves the bother of shaking the casks).
    Oliver Smith, Outside Online, 15 Jan. 2020
  • The law does not address any of the grievances raised by demonstrators over the past year, though that seemed to be of little bother to Lam.
    Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic, 1 July 2020
  • Just give Real Madrid the trophy and save everyone the bother.
    New York Times, 28 May 2022
  • At no point does the show bother to show us how Thomas de Geest got from the cabin to Flemish vigilante.
    Rebecca Farley, refinery29.com, 26 Mar. 2018
  • Other than the bother of moving them in and out as needed, this also works very well.
    Dan Gill, NOLA.com, 28 Oct. 2020
  • But this was one of those rare nights when the Sox didn’t bother to show up, and the outcome was decided before most of the crowd had settled in.
    Paul Sullivan, chicagotribune.com, 22 Apr. 2018
  • So – simply knowing that this exchange is sitting silently in your phone bothers you.
    Amy Dickinson, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2023
  • So — simply knowing that this exchange is sitting silently in your phone bothers you.
    Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 28 May 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bother.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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