Phrase guide

surrogate mother

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A woman who gives birth to a child with the intent to give this child to at least one of the biological parents (not including herself, if she is one of them)

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: surro

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a woman who bears a child for a couple where the wife is unable to do so

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a surrogate mother is artificially inseminated with the father's semen and carries the fetus to term

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: mother, female parent

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

29 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: أُمّ بَدِيلَة (ʔumm badīla) — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Chinese Mandarin: 代孕母親 /代孕母亲 (dàiyùn mǔqīn) — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Danish: rugemor — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Dutch: draagmoeder — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Finnish: sijaisäiti — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Finnish: sijaissynnyttäjä — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • French: mère porteuse — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • German: Leihmutter — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Greek: αναπληρωματική μητέρα (anapliromatikí mitéra) — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Hebrew: אֵם פּוּנְדְקָאִית (em pundeqaít) — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Hungarian: béranya — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Icelandic: staðgöngumóðir — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Italian: madre sostitutiva — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Japanese: 代理母 — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Korean: 대리모 (daerimo) — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Latin: mater surrogata — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Norwegian Bokmål: surrogatmor — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: surrogatmor — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Polish: surogatka — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Polish: matka zastępcza — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Portuguese: barriga de aluguel — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Portuguese: barriga de aluguer — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Russian: суррога́тная мать (surrogátnaja matʹ) — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Spanish: madre sustituta — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Spanish: madre de alquiler — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Spanish: madre gestante — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Swedish: surrogatmor — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Turkish: taşıyıcı anne — woman who gives birth to a child not her own
  • Vietnamese: thay thế mẹ — woman who gives birth to a child not her own