mother ship
See also: mothership
English
[edit]
Alternative forms
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]mother ship (plural mother ships)
- A vessel, aircraft or spacecraft that serves or carries a smaller vessel or vessels that operate independently from it.
- (by extension) The main source or supporter of something.
- 2016 October 16, Jon Boone, “Narendra Modi labels Pakistan 'mothership of terrorism'”, in The Guardian[1]:
- “Tragically the mothership of terrorism is a country in India’s neighbourhood,” Modi told a gathering in India of the heads of governments of the Brics countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
- (chiefly science fiction) The largest vessel, especially a spaceship, in a fleet, from which the fleet is commanded; a flagship.
- (by extension) The largest and most fearsome example of something.
- 2015 May 12, Sam Maggs, The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Girl Geeks, Quirk Books, →ISBN, page 114:
- SDCC is the mothership of all cons. It's enormous. It has the best stars.
- 2021 July 22, Antoine de Bengy Puyvallée, Kristian Bjørkdahl, Do-Gooders at the End of Aid: Scandinavian Humanitarianism in the Twenty-First Century, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 70:
- These vices all feed the mothership of hubris, however, which several of the key characters demonstrate in ample measure.
- 2024 March 4, Zoe Wood, “Sephora: ‘mothership of modern-day beauty industry’ revels in a retail makeover”, in The Guardian[2]:
- Sephora is the “mothership of the modern-day beauty industry”, claims Greg Silverman, global director of brand economics at the marketing consultancy Interbrand.
Translations
[edit]vessel that serves a smaller vessel
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