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Meaning of bother in English. bother. verb. uk / ˈbɒð.ə r/ us / ˈbɑː.ðɚ / bother verb (MAKE AN EFFORT) Add to word list. B2 [ I or T ] to make the effort to do something: [ + to infinitive ] He hasn't even bothered to write. You could have phoned us but you just didn't bother. [ + -ing verb ] Don't bother mak ing the bed - I'll do it later.
Bother means trouble or difficulty. You can also use bother to refer to an activity which causes this, especially when you would prefer not to do it or get involved with it.
the bother. the effort that is necessary to achieve something: Some people don't get married because they don't want the bother. It hardly seems worth the bother to go all that way just for two nights. If this change is going to disrupt people's lives so much, it's not worth the bother.
Learn the meaning, usage, and history of the word bother, which can be a verb or a noun. Find out the difference between bother and bothers, and see related words and phrases.
Learn the meaning, pronunciation and usage of the verb bother, which can mean to spend time and/or energy doing something, to annoy or worry somebody, or to interrupt somebody. See also idioms and expressions with bother.
The word bother has many shades of meaning, but most of them involve trouble of some sort. You might wonder why you should bother to follow a recipe, until you taste what you've made without one. As a verb, bother can mean that you take the trouble to do something.
What does the word bother mean? There are 11 meanings listed in OED's entry for the word bother, two of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence. See meaning & use. How common is the word bother? About 10 occurrences per million words in modern written English. See frequency.
