Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

mother country

 noun
     
Related topics: Nationality and Race
mother country [countable usually singular]
1SAN someone's mother country is the country where they or their family were born and to which they feel a very strong emotional connection, even if they are no longer living there [= motherland]
2 a powerful country that controls or used to control a less powerful country:
The bond between the mother country and her former colonies grew stronger.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary