surrogate mother

noun

1

a

: a woman who becomes pregnant by artificial insemination or by implantation of a fertilized egg created by in vitro fertilization for the purpose of carrying the fetus to term for another person or persons

Live births by surrogate mothers were up more than 160 percent from 2004 to 2013, to 1,939, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

—Michael Ollove

A surrogate mother has given birth to quadruplets, who will be raised by their natural father and his male domestic partner.

—Associated Press

Evidence suggests that US military wives are increasingly targeted as desirable surrogate mothers; they are generally low to-middle-income, stay-at-home mothers with high-quality, government-sponsored health care and few employment options of their own …

—Natalie Fixmer-Oraiz

b

: a female animal that is impregnated (as by embryo transfer or artificial insemination) in order to bear young in place of another animal

Farmers administer fertility drugs to prize cows and then artificially inseminate them. A week later, experts flush out fertilized embryos and freeze them until they're sold for implantation in surrogate mothers.

—Janet Raloff

The mare was only a surrogate mother; the zebra embryo, fertilized normally a year ago Wednesday, was implanted in the mare's womb last May by Dr. Bill Foster …. This was the first known instance of a horse giving birth to a full-blooded zebra, according to zoo officials.

—The New York Times

2

: one who acts or serves as a substitute mother

In Gimme a Break! in the early 1980s, Nell Carter played a live-in housekeeper to a widowed white police officer (Dolph Sweet), and became essentially a surrogate mother to his children.

—John McWhorter

Typically, Nick managed to attract the sympathy of a surrogate mother—albeit a crusty one. When he showed up on the Solution set an hour late, [Katherine] Hepburn … gave him a lecture.

—Michelle Green

Part of the credit for their success goes to a large stuffed Snoopy dog, which became the young chick's surrogate mother, says Frank Todd, corporate curator of birds at Sea World. Emperor chicks in the wild nestle on the feet of their mothers, and researchers had reasoned that the toy animal would provide similar security.

—National Wildlife

surrogate motherhood noun

Advocates of surrogate motherhood say that private arrangements between individuals are part of a guaranteed right to bear children without interference from the state.

—Curtis J. Sitomer

Examples of surrogate mother in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Electricity is used to stimulate cell division, and, when this embryo is still just a bundle of cells on the scale of micrometres, a second dog, also in estrus, is operated on to become a surrogate mother. —Alexandra Horowitz, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024

Though Brooke is too old for a nanny or babysitter, Sam becomes a crucial presence in her life: a big sister, friend and sometimes surrogate mother. —Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2024

Though Brooke is too old for a nanny or babysitter, Sam becomes a crucial presence in her life, a big sister, friend and sometimes surrogate mother. —Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 7 June 2024

The southern sea otter, 24, had served as a surrogate mother for 15 otters, the most in the aquarium’s history. —Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1912, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Medical Definition

surrogate mother

noun

: a woman who becomes pregnant by artificial insemination or by implantation of a fertilized egg created by in vitro fertilization for the purpose of carrying the fetus to term for another person or persons

surrogate motherhood noun

Legal Definition

surrogate mother

noun

surrogate moth·​er

: a woman who becomes pregnant usually by artificial insemination or surgical implantation of a fertilized egg for the purpose of carrying the fetus to term for another woman

surrogate motherhood noun