bother

[both -er] /ˈbɒð ər/
verb (used with object)
1.
to give trouble to; annoy; pester; worry:
His baby sister bothered him for candy.
2.
to bewilder; confuse:
His inability to understand the joke bothered him.
verb (used without object)
3.
to take the trouble; trouble or inconvenience oneself:
Don't bother to call. He has no time to bother with trifles.
noun
4.
something troublesome, burdensome, or annoying:
Doing the laundry every week can be a terrible bother.
5.
effort, work, or worry:
Gardening takes more bother than it's worth.
6.
a worried or perplexed state:
Don't get into such a bother about small matters.
7.
someone or something that bothers or annoys:
My cousin is a perpetual bother to me.
interjection
8.
Chiefly British. (used to express mild irritation.)
Origin
1710-20; orig. Hiberno-English; probably by hypercorrection from bodder, an alternate early form; origin obscure
Related forms
unbothered, adjective
unbothering, adjective
Synonyms
1. harass, vex, irritate; molest, disturb. Bother, annoy, plague, tease imply persistent interference with one's comfort or peace of mind. Bother suggests causing trouble or weariness or repeatedly interrupting in the midst of pressing duties. To annoy is to vex or irritate by bothering. Plague is a strong word, connoting unremitting annoyance and harassment. To tease is to pester, as by long-continued whining and begging.

both

[bohth] /boʊθ/
adjective
1.
one and the other; two together:
He met both sisters. Both performances were canceled.
pronoun
2.
the one as well as the other:
Both of us were going to the party.
conjunction
3.
alike; equally:
He is both ready and willing.
Origin
1125-75; Middle English bothe, bathe, influenced by Scandinavian (compare Old Norse bāthir both; cognate with German, Dutch beide, Gothic ba tho skipa both (the) ships, Old High German bêde < *bai thai); replacing Middle English bo, ba, Old English bā; cognate with Gothic bai; akin to Latin ambō, Greek ámphō, Lithuanian abù, Sanskrit ubháu
Examples from the web for bother
  • It takes resources to digitize books, and some books are simply not worth the trouble for publishers to bother.
  • It doesn't bother me that they use the info to place targeted ads.
  • Why bother learning what you are doing when your co-workers will range from mediocre to down-right incompetent.
  • Why that should be is one of those questions that is so obvious that people rarely bother to ask it.
  • Some people think a flu shot isn't worth the bother.
  • Of course, there are benefits to living in cities, or people wouldn't bother.
  • Using a paintbrush will leave visible marks, which may or may not bother you.
  • Not all search chairmen bother to call and ask permission to make inquiries.
  • Few people will bother to learn a language on abstract or idealistic grounds, she says.
  • They generally bother people only when people bother them first.
British Dictionary definitions for bother

bother

/ˈbɒðə/
verb
1.
(transitive) to give annoyance, pain, or trouble to; irritate: his bad leg is bothering him again
2.
(transitive) to trouble (a person) by repeatedly disturbing; pester: stop bothering your father!
3.
(intransitive) to take the time or trouble; concern oneself: don't bother to come with me
4.
(transitive) to make (a person) alarmed or confused: the thought of her husband's return clearly bothered her
noun
5.
a state of worry, trouble, or confusion
6.
a person or thing that causes fuss, trouble, or annoyance
7.
(informal) a disturbance or fight; trouble (esp in the phrase a spot of bother)
interjection
8.
(mainly Brit) an exclamation of slight annoyance
Word Origin
C18: perhaps from Irish Gaelic bodhar deaf, vexed; compare Irish Gaelic buairim I vex

both

/bəʊθ/
determiner
1.
  1. the two; two considered together: both dogs were dirty
  2. (as pronoun): both are to blame
conjunction
2.
(coordinating) used preceding words, phrases, or clauses joined by and, used to emphasize that not just one, but also the other of the joined elements is included: both Ellen and Keith enjoyed the play, both new and exciting
Word Origin
C12: from Old Norse bāthir; related to Old High German bēde, Latin ambō, Greek amphō
Word Origin and History for bother
v.

1718, probably from Anglo-Irish pother, because its earliest use was by Irish writers Sheridan, Swift, Sterne. Perhaps from Irish bodhairim "I deafen." Related: Bothered; bothering. As a noun from 1803.

both

adj., pron.

there are several theories, all similar, and deriving the word from the tendency to say "both the." One is that it is Old English begen (masc.) "both" (from Proto-Germanic *ba, from PIE *bho "both") + -þ extended base. Another traces it to the Proto-Germanic formula represented in Old English by ba þa "both these," from ba (feminine nominative and accusative of begen) + þa, nominative and accusative plural of se "that." A third traces it to Old Norse baðir "both," from *bai thaiz "both the," from Proto-Germanic *thaiz, third person plural pronoun. Cf. similar formation in Old Frisian bethe, Dutch beide, Old High German beide, German beide, Gothic bajoþs.

Idioms and Phrases with bother

both

also see: