bother

1 an angry disturbance; "he didn't want to make a fuss"; "they had labor trouble"; "a spot of bother" [syn: fuss, trouble, hassle]

2 something or someone that causes trouble; a source of unhappiness; "washing dishes was a nuisance before we got a dish washer"; "a bit of a bother"; "he's not a friend, he's an infliction" [syn: annoyance, botheration, pain, infliction, pain in the neck, pain in the ass]

1 take the trouble to do something; concern oneself; "He did not trouble to call his mother on her birthday"; "Don't bother, please" [syn: trouble oneself, trouble, inconvenience oneself]

2 cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations; "Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers me"; "It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves" [syn: annoy, rag, get to, get at, irritate, rile, nark, nettle, gravel, vex, chafe, devil]

3 to cause inconvenience or discomfort to; "Sorry to trouble you, but..." [syn: trouble, put out, inconvenience, disoblige, discommode, incommode]

4 intrude or enter uninvited; "Don't bother the professor while she is grading term papers"

5 make nervous or agitated; "The mere thought of her bothered him and made his heart beat faster"

6 make confused or perplexed or puzzled

English

Etymology

Possibly of origin.

Pronunciation

• (US) /'bɑðɚ/
• (UK) /ˈbɒðə/

• Rhymes: -ɒðə(r)

Verb

1. To annoy, to disturb.

   Would it bother you if I smoked?

2. To do something at one's own inconvenience

   Why do I even bother to try?

3. 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

Translations

Noun

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.

Translations

*Spanish: cansón

Interjection

1. A mild expression of annoyance.
   • 1926, A A Milne, Winnie the Pooh, Methuen & Co., Ltd., Chapter 2 ...in which Pooh goes visiting and gets into a tight place:

     "Oh, help!" said Pooh. "I'd better go back."

     "Oh, bother!" said Pooh. "I shall have to go on."

     "I can't do either!" said Pooh. "Oh, help and bother!"

Synonyms

• blast, dang (US), darn

Translations

• Arabic: يضايق, يزعج
• French: zut!

Related terms

• be bothered
• bothered
• bothersome

Bother may refer to:

• Bother (song), a 2003 hard rock song
• Bother! The Brain of Pooh, a one-man show

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