Bother

English

Etymology

From Scots bauther, bather "to bother". Origin unknown. Perhaps related to Scots pother "to make a stir or commotion, bustle", also of unknown origin.

Probably not connected with Irish buaidhrim "I vex" due to the extreme difference in the pronunciation between the two words.

Pronunciation

• enPR: bŏʹ-thər, IPA: /ˈbɒðər/, SAMPA: /"bQD@r/
• (Australia) IPA: [ˈbɔðə(ɹ)]
• (UK) IPA: [ˈbɒðə(ɹ)]

  • Audio (UK)

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    (file)

  • Rhymes: -ɒðə(r)
• (US) IPA: [ˈbɑðɚ]

Verb

Bother (third-person singular simple present Bothers, present participle Bothering, simple past and past participle Bothered)

1. (transitive) To annoy, to disturb, to irritate.

   Would it bother you if I smoked?

2. (intransitive) To do something at one's own inconvenience.

   Why do I even bother to try?

3. (intransitive) To do something which is of negligible inconvenience.

   You didn't even bother to close the door.

Synonyms

• (annoy, disturb): annoy, disturb, irritate, put out, vex
• See also Thesaurus:annoy

Notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Noun

Bother (countable and uncountable; plural bothers)

1. Fuss, ado.

   There was a bit of bother at the hairdresser's when they couldn't find my appointment in the book.

2. Trouble, inconvenience.

   Yes, I can do that for you - it's no bother.

Interjection

bother!

1. A mild expression of annoyance.

Synonyms

• blast, dang (US), darn

Thesaurus

abash, abrade, abuse a privilege, addle, addle the wits, ado, afflict, aggravate, aggravation, agitate, agitation, ail, annoy, annoyance, anxiety, awkwardness, bad news, badger, baffle, bafflement, bait, ball up, be at, be the matter, becloud, bedazzle, bedevil, bedevilment, befuddle, befuddlement, beset, besetment, bewilder, bewilderment, bore, botheration, bothersomeness, brawl, bristle, broil, brouhaha, brown off, bug, bullyrag, burden, burdening, burn up, burst, bustle, can of worms, chafe, chaos, charging, chivy, cloud, clumsiness, commotion, complicate matters, concern, confoundment, confuse, confusion, crashing bore, daze, dazzle, demand, devil, devilment, difficulty, dilemma, disaccommodate, disadvantage, discombobulate, discombobulation, discomfit, discomfiture, discomfort, discommode, discommodity, discompose, discomposure, disconcert, disconcertedness, disconcertion, disconcertment, dismay, disoblige, disorder, disorganization, disorganize, disorient, disorientation, disquiet, distemper, distress, disturb, disturbance, dither, dog, dogging, donnybrook, donnybrook fair, downer, drag, dustup, effort, embarrass, embarrassment, embroilment, encroach upon, enigma, entangle, evil, exaction, exasperate, exasperation, exercise, fash, feery-fary, ferment, fidgetiness, fit, fix, flap, flummox, flurry, fluster, flusteration, flustration, flutter, flutteriness, fog, foofaraw, fracas, frazzle, free-for-all, freighting, frenzy, fret, fuddle, fuddlement, fuss, fuss at, fussiness, get, give concern, great ado, gripe, harass, harassment, harry, harrying, hassle, haze, headache, heckle, hector, helter-skelter, hound, hounding, hubbub, hullabaloo, impose on, impose upon, imposing an onus, imposition, incommode, incommodity, inconsiderateness, inconvenience, inconveniency, inconvenientness, infliction, irk, irritant, irritate, irritation, jam, jumble, lather, laying on, load with care, loading, loading down, maelstrom, make free with, matter, maze, melee, mess, miff, mist, mix up, moider, molest, molestation, muddle, muddlement, mystery, nag, needle, nettle, nonplus, nudge, nudzh, nuisance, obtrude upon, obtrusiveness, overstep, pain, peck of troubles, peeve, pell-mell, perplex, perplexity, persecute, persecution, perturb, perturbation, pest, pester, pet, pick on, pickle, pique, plague, plight, pluck the beard, pother, predicament, presume on, presume upon, presumptuousness, problem, provoke, pucker, put out, put to inconvenience, put to it, put to trouble, puzzle, puzzlement, quandary, racket, raise hell, rampage, rattle, restlessness, riddle, ride, rile, riot, roil, rough-and-tumble, roughhouse, row, ruckus, ruction, ruffle, rumpus, scramble, scrape, sea of troubles, shindy, shuffle, spasm, spurt, stew, stir, sweat, swirl, swivet, take a liberty, take liberties, tasking, taxing, tease, throw into confusion, tizzy, to-do, torment, trial, trouble, troublesomeness, try the patience, tumult, turmoil, tweak the nose, twitter, twitteration, unassuredness, unhandiness, unhinge, unquiet, unsettle, unsettlement, unwarranted demand, unwieldiness, uproar, upset, vex, vexation, vexatiousness, vortex, weighting, whirl, worriment, worry