Bother Meaning
/ˈbɔðə(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo annoy, to disturb, to irritate; to be troublesome to, to make trouble for.
verbTo annoy, to disturb, to irritate; to be troublesome to, to make trouble for., Damn; curse.
Sentence Examples
I will play Sudoku then instead of continuing to bother you.
Don't bother to call on him.
You needn't bother asking Rick—I know he's too busy.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Please do not ____ me while I am studying for the exam.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I am sorry to ____ you, but could you please help me with this box?.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1876 July, Henry James, Jr., chapter V, in The American, Boston, Mass.: James R[ipley] Osgood and Company, […], published 5 May 1877, →OCLC, page 87:
"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."
— 2015 January 18, Monty Munford, “What’s the point of carrying a mobile phone nowadays?”, in The Daily Telegraph:
"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."
— 1894, Lucy C[ecil] Lillie, chapter XXVI, in A Family Dilemma: A Story for Girls, Philadelphia, Pa.: Porter & Coates, →OCLC, page 171:
"[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."
— 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, London: Wordsworth Classics, published 1993, page 11:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Please do not ____ me while I am studying for the exam.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I am sorry to ____ you, but could you please help me with this box?.