Bother

Definition: Bother

Bother

Noun

1. An angry disturbance; "he didn't want to make a fuss"; "they had labor trouble"; "a spot of bother".

2. Something or someone that causes trouble; a source of unhappiness; "a bit of a bother".

Verb

1. Take the trouble to do something; concern oneself; "He did not trouble to call his mother on her birthday"; "Don't bother, please".

2. Cause annoyance in; disturb, esp. by minor irritations: "Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers me"; "It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves".

3. To cause inconvenience or discomfort to: "Sorry to trouble you, but...".

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.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "bother" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1380. (references)

Literature

Multilingual Slang

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Bother

Activity

Movement, bustle, stir, fuss, ado, bother, pottering, fidget, fidgetiness; flurry; (haste).

Difficulty

Verb: be difficult; Adjective: run one hard, go against the grain, try one's patience, put one out; put to one's shifts, put to one's wit's end; go hard with one, try one; pose, perplex; (uncertain); bother, nonplus, gravel, bring to a deadlock; be impossible; be in the way of; (hinder).

Misjudgment

Phrase: nothing like leather; the wish the father to the thought; wishful thinking; unshakable conviction; "my mind is made up - don't bother me with the facts".

Pain

Displease, annoy, incommode, discompose, trouble, disquiet; faze, feaze, feeze (U.S.); disturb, cross, perplex, molest, tease, tire, irk, vex, mortify, wherret, worry, plague, bother, pester, bore, pother, harass, harry, badger, heckle, bait, beset, infest, persecute, importune.

Annoyance, irritation, worry, infliction, visitation; plague, bore; bother, botheration; stew, vexation, mortification, chagrin, esclandre; mauvais quart d'heur.

Annoyance, grievance, nuisance, vexation, mortification, sickener; bore, bother, pother, hot water, "sea of troubles", hornet's nest, plague, pest.

Uncertainty

Render uncertain; Adjective: put out, pose, puzzle, perplex, embarrass; confuse, confound; bewilder, bother, molder, addle the wits, throw off the scent, ambiguas in vulgus spargere voces; keep in suspense.

Crosswords: Bother

Anybody think of anything in here that, uh, might bother Bobby Ray (Sweet Home Alabama; writing credit: C. Jay Cox)

They don't bother me. (Jurassic Park; writing credit: Michael Crichton)

Oh help and bother, I'm stuck (Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree; writing credit: A.A. Milne; Ralph Wright)

Oh, I shouldn't bother to buy one, dear (The Mirror Crack'd; writing credit: Agatha Christie; Jonathan Hales)

If you got a beautiful note like this, would you bother comparing signatures (We're No Angels; writing credit: Albert Husson; Ranald MacDougall)

Why do I bother (The Sign; performing artist: Ace Of Base)

Hold me now don't bother (Shape Of My Heart; performing artist: Backstreet Boys)

Bother me tomorrow, today, I'll buy no sorrows (LOOKIN' OUT MY BACK DOOR; performing artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival)

If I'd've known for just one second you'd back to bother me ("I Will Survive"; performing artist: Gloria Gayner)

And there the world below don't bother me, no, no (Up On the Roof; performing artist: James Taylor)

It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand. (references; author: Mark Twain)

Colorado: If You Don't Ski, Don't Bother (references; author: unknown)

Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach that person to use the Internet, and he won't bother you for weeks. (references; author: unknown)

Don't Bother to Knock (1961)

Ginger Nutt's Bee Bother (1949)

A Spot of Bother (1938)

Another Spot of Bother (1935)

Hey Girl Don't Bother Me (performing artist: The Tams)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Don't Bother to Knock (Soundings) [ABRIDGED] (reference)

• The Puzzle of the 613 Commandments and Why Bother (reference)

• Why Bother with Adam and Eve? (reference)

• Why Bother With the Bible?: Understanding the Book of Faith (reference)

  (more book examples)

Theater & Movies

• Don't Bother to Knock (reference)

• Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection II (Don't Bother to Knock / Let's Make Love / Monkey Business / Niagara / River of No Return) (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• Blues Don't Bother Me (reference)

• It Don't Bother Me (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Go 'way, boy, you bother me! / Gib Crockett. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

said Marvin, dragging himself on regardless. "Pardon me for breathing, which I never do anyway so I don't know why I bother to say it, oh God I'm so depressed

Used ta bother me.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

Be aware that these products may bother your skin and nails. (references)

Try to avoid odors that bother you, such as cooking smells, smoke, or perfume. (references)

Such difficulties may be a bother, but usually they are not serious enough to cause alarm. (references)

Economic History

Sweden

However, an investor need not bother with these proceedings, as it is much easier to acquire an already registered shelf-company and adapt its articles of association to the needs and intents of the investor. (references)

Travel

Yemen

The greatest threat comes from automobile accidents, although Sanaa's altitude (over 7,200 ft.), dryness, and dust may bother some people. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Expressions using "bother": bother about ♦ bother it! ♦ bother oneself ♦ bother this lock! ♦ bother with ♦ don't bother about it! ♦ don't bother me! ♦ fuss and bother ♦ it doesn't bother me ♦ not to bother. Additional references.

Beginning with "bother": bother-headed'.

Ending with "bother": b-bother, they-bother.

Containing "bother": don't-bother-me.

Afrikaans

belemmer (bar, disturb, hinder, inhibit, prevent, trouble). (various references)

Albanian

bezdi (annoyance, awkwardness, bogey, botheration, displeasure, flea-bite, hassle, officiousness, peeve, trouble), bela (annoyance, curse, disaster, mess, mishap, pest, pickle, trouble), shqetësoj (agitate, ail, alarm, break up, concern, denationalize, discommode, discompose, disquiet, distemper, distress, disturb, eat, embarrass, fash, flurry, fret, Harrow, Harry, incommode, move, peeve, perturb, plague, pother, preoccupy, ruffle, trouble, vex, worry), shqetësim (affliction, agitation, anxiety, care, concern, discomfort, discomposure, displeasure, disquiet, disquietude, distemper, distress, disturbance, fash, fear, feeling, fidget, flurry, fret, Fry, harassment, inconvenience, inquietude, moil, perturbation, plague, preoccupation, qualm, restlessness, solicitude, trepidation, trouble, tumult, turmoil, uneasiness, unrest, vexation, worry), ngas (drive, fly, irritate, Josh, molest, pilot, ride, run, steer, tease), ngacmoj (annoy, badger, banter, bedevil, chaff, chip, dare, excite, guy, harass, Harrow, Harry, irritate, jolly, molest, monkey, nag, nettle, provoke, rag, rally, ruffle, tamper, tease), mërzit (annoy, badger, bore, cloy, disgruntle, dissatisfy, get, nag, peeve, pester, plague, turn sour, vex). (various references)

Arabic 

‏قلق (agitated, anxiety, anxious, apprehension, apprehensive, apprehensiveness, concern, concerned, crankous, cranky, discomfort, disquiet, disquietude, disturbance, fearful, fidget, fidgety, freakish, fretful, ill at ease, inquietude, nervous, perturbation, perturbed, restless, restlessness, solicitous, solicitude, stew, streaked, suspense, sweat, toss, troubled, troublous, uneasiness, uneasy, unquiet, unrest, upset, worried, worry), ‏ضجة (ado, botcher, clutter, din, hullabaloo, hustle, noise, pother, racket, roar, row, rumor, rumour, rumpus, sensation, shindy, sound, stir, storm, titbit, tumult), ‏إهتياج (access, ado, agitation, bustling, commotion, delirium, dither, ebullience, effervescence, excitation, exciting, ferment, fermentation, flurry, fuss, great rage, in a state, ramp, rampage, sensation, stir, willies), ‏إنزعاج (annoyance, botcher, disturbance, indisposition, malaise), ‏إزعاج (annoyance, annoying, botheration, discomfort, disquiet, disruption, disturbance, harassing, harassment, importunity, inconvenience, loudness, mischievousness, molestation, movement, nuisance, offence, patter, trouble), ‏أزعج (ail, annoy, beset, burn, discompose, disquiet, disrupt, distress, disturb, get in the way, get on smb.'s nerves, gig, gnaw, grate, hamper, harass, importune, incommode, inconvenience, infest, intrude, irk, irritate, jolt, molest, nag, niggle, obsess, offend, pain, peck, peeve, perturb, pester, plague, possess, prickle, put out, rasp, rattle, ruffle, saddle, torment, trouble, upset, vex), ‏أربك (baffle, bamboozle, befuddle, bemuse, bewilder, buffalo, confound, confuse, demoralize, discompose, disconcert, disorientate, embarrass, embrangle, entangle, floor, fluster, fox, fret, fuddle, gravel, molest, muckrake, mystify, nonplus, obfuscate, overwhelm, perplex, pose, put out, puzzle, ravel, show up, squirm, stop, stumble, stump, vex). (various references)

Bulgarian 

ядове (grief), грижа се (care, care about, concern, fend, provide, trouble), грижи (attendance, solicitudes), отегчавам (bore, pester, tire, turn off, weary), безпокоя (agitate, ail, alarm, chivy, discompose, disturb, exercise, fash, feeze, gall, inconvenience, molest, pother, put about, vex, worry), безпокойство (alarm, anxiety, care, concernment, discomposure, disquiet, disquietude, disturbance, fash, harassment, inconvenience, inquietude, malaise, plague, qualm, ruffle, trepidation, trouble, uneasiness, upset, whim-wham, worriment, worrit, worry). (various references)

Chinese 

烦气, 煩擾 . (various references)

Czech

zlobit (act up, annoy, blink, get up to mischief, irk, irritate, spite), vyrušovat (butt in, distract, disturb, intrude, trouble), trápit (afflict, agonize, ail, bait, beset, discommode, disgruntle, grieve, nag, pain, pester, plague, pother, rack, tantalize, torment, torture, trouble, vex, worry), sužovat (afflict, beset, harass, Harry, haunt, scourge), otravovat (annoy, bore, bug, hassle, nag, nark, peeve, pester, worry), otrava (bitch, bore, business, chore, drag, nark, pain, pest, poison, spoilsport, tedium), obtìžovat (accost, annoy, harass, haunt, incommode, inconvenience, interfere, intrude, molest, pester, push, tackle, trouble, worry), dìlat si starosti. (various references)

Danish

hindre (bar, disturb, hinder, inhibit, prevent, trouble), forstyrre (disturb, hinder, trouble). (various references)

Dutch

storen (bar, disturb, hinder, inhibit, prevent, trouble), hinderen (disturb, hinder, trouble), belemmeren (bar, disturb, hamper, hinder, impede, inhibit, obstruct, oppose, prevent, stand in the way of, trouble). (various references)

Esperanto

ĝeni (disturb, hinder, trouble). (various references)

Faeroese

strevast (aim, attempt, endeavour, strive for, try), sjabba (aim, attempt, endeavour, try), kýta seg (aim, attempt, endeavour, try), órógva (disturb, hinder, trouble). (various references)

Farsi 

پریشانی (Baffle, Depression, Distress, Dolor, Nonplus, Ramble, Remorse, Turmoil, Woe), مخل اسایش شدن , مایه زحمت (Cumbersome), نگران شدن (Anguish), زحمت دادن (Trouble), جوش زدن وخودخوری کردن , رنجش (Acrimony, Annoyance, Grief, Irritation, Miff, Offense, Pique, Resentment, Umbrage, Vexation), دردسردادن . (various references)

Finnish

vaivata (disturb, give trouble, harass, hinder, inconvenience, trouble, vex, worry). (various references)

French

gêner. (various references)

German

belästigen (annoy, badger, be disturbing, disturb, harass, hinder, importune, irritate, molest, persecute, pester, to bother, to discommode, to importune, to incommode, to molest, to pester, trouble), stören (annoy, bar, be disturbing, bug, bust up, disrupt, disturb, get in the way, harass, heckle, hinder, incommode, inhibit, interfere with, interrupt, invade, jam, mutilate, perturb, prevent, spoil, spoil the effect, stick out, to derange, to disturb, to incommode, to interrupt, to mutilate, to perturb, to trouble, torment, trouble, upset, violate, worry), plage (curse, devil, harassment, infliction, menace, nuisance, pest, plague, scourge, toil, trouble, vexation, worriment), genieren (be embarrassed, disturb, embarrass, hinder, trouble), beschäftigen (be on smb.'s mind, employ, keep occupied, occupied, occupy, preoccupy, to bother, to employ). (various references)

Greek 

σκοτίζομαι (worry), ενοχλώ (act up, ail, annoy, badger, bedevil, derange, discommode, disturb, fret, get someone's back up, grate on, harass, heckle, incommode, inconvenience, infest, irk, irritate, jar on, pester, pother, trouble). (various references)

Hebrew 

מטרד (drag, inconvenience, nuisance, vexation), להטריד (annoy, badger, fuss, incommode, irk, obsess, pester, plague), להטריח (molest, trouble), לטרוד (annoy, disturb, drive away, expel, harass, trouble), הכבדה (burden, imposition, inconvenience, troubling), הטרדה (annoyance, harassing, harassment, nuisance), טרחה (burden, hassle, pains, trouble), טרדן (bore, heckler, nuisance, pest, terror, troublesome person), טרדה (concern, discomfort, distress, hassle, nuisance), טרדנות (distress, trouble, troubling). (various references)

Hungarian

zaklatás (annoyance, harassment, molestation, persecution, vexation), alkalmatlanság (botheration, disability, disqualification, inadequacy, inaptitude, incapability, incapacity, ineptness, inexpedience, inexpediency). (various references)

Indonesian

bersusah, menggelisahi, menganggu (discomfort), gangguan (derangement, disruption, disturbance, harassment, hindrance, interruption, irritation, nuisance, vexation). (various references)

Italian

disturbare (annoy, disrupt, disturb, hinder, inconvenience, irk, jam, trouble, upset). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

迷惑 (annoyance, trouble), 厄介 (burden, care, dependence, kindness, obligation, support, trouble, worry). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

めいわく (annoyance, trouble), やっかい (burden, care, dependence, kindness, obligation, support, translating and explaining, trouble, worry). (various references)

Korean 

성가심. (various references)

Manx

killjeh (noise of fighting), fillosher (manoeuvre, needless ornament, ploy, valueless trinket). (various references)

Maya

top (to bother). (various references)

Norwegian

bryderi, forsøke (aim, attempt, endeavour, try). (various references)

Pig Latin

otherbay.(various references)

Polish

przeszkadzać (disturb, hinder, trouble), krępować (disturb, hinder, trouble). (various references)

Portuguese

incomodar (ail, annoy, discomfort, discommode, disquiet, disturb, fidget, fret, harass, hinder, incommode, inconvenience, leech, molest, pester, roil, trouble). (various references)

Romanian

deranja (annoy, be in the way, come amiss to smb., derange, disarrange, discomfort, discommode, discompose, dislocate, disorder, disturb, fidget, hinder, incommode, interrupt, intrude, intrude one's presence on smb., intrude upon, ruffle, spoil, trouble, tumble). (various references)

Russian 

хлопоты (ado), тормошить (worry), надоедать (annoy, badger, bore, irk, persecute, pester, trouble, worry), надоедливый человек (a pain in the neck, pest, pestiferous fellow), мешать беспокойство, беспокойство (ado, Angst, anxiety, botheration, discomfort, discomposure, disquiet, disquietude, disturbance, fash, fidget, harassment, inconvenience, inquietude, restlessness, taking, trepidation, trouble, uneasiness, uneasyness, unrest, worry). (various references)

Scottish

dragh (annoyance, draw, pull, trouble, tug). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

briga (botheration, care, concern, trouble, worry), uznimirenje (disturbance, trouble), uznemiriti (acerbate, alarm, discompose, disconcert, disturb, hound, intrude, perturb, pester, put out, put smb. out, trouble, unsettle, upset, vex), uznemiravati (disturb, harass, inconvenience, trouble, upset), smetati (annoy, disturb, hamper, hinder, impede, inconvenience, interfere with), dosaditi (acerbate, annoy, be sick of, irk, pall, pester, vex), štrapacirati. (various references)

Spanish

molestar (annoy, badger, bar, bedevil, commove, discommode, distract, disturb, estop, fag, faze, fret, fuss, harass, hassle, hinder, incommode, inconvenience, inflict, inhibit, intrude, irritate, molest, nettle, persecute, pester, prevent, put about, put out, put upon, tease, trouble, worry), incomodar (disturb, hinder, incommode, inconvenience, put out, put upon, trouble), fastidiar (annoy, badger, bug, devil, fuss, hassle, importune, irk, nag, needle, pip, play up, tease, tick off, vex), estorbar (bar, be in the way of, defeat, derange, disturb, encumber, fetter, gag, get in the way, guard against, hamper, handicap, hinder, impede, inhibit, interfere with, intrude, keep back, muzzle, obstruct, prevent, thwart, tie, upset). (various references)

Swedish

besvära (ail, annoy, appeal, complain, disoblige, disturb, embarrass, encumber, importune, incommode, inconvenience, pester, plague, protest, trouble). (various references)

Thai

ทำให้เกิดปัญหา, ทำให้ตัวเองยุ่งยาก, การรบกวน (chafe, molestation, nag, nuisance), ตัวก่อปัญหา. (various references)

Turkish

baş belâsı (a thorn in the flesh, a thorn in the side, annoyance, confounded, headache, hellbender, nuisance, old man of the sea, pain in the neck, pestilent, pestilential, stiff, tease, tough, troublemaker, troublesome), baş belâsı olmak, musallat olmak (impose oneself on, pester, visit), aksatmak (bar, cast a damp over, disturb, hamper, hamstring, hinder, inhibit, limp, make limp, paralyse, paralyze, prevent, trouble), allah'ın belâsı (bother it, confound it, cursed, damn, damned, darned, deuced, doggone, flaming, godforsaken, what a bind), can sıkmak (bore, bug), canını sıkmak (annoy, bait, cast down, devil, disgruntle, displease, distress oneself, fash, get in one's hair, give smb. the hump, give the hump, give the pips, hassle, irk, offput, put about, put off, ruffle smb.'s temper, trouble, turn off, vex), daraltmak (bore, constrict, contract, narrow, straiten), üzülmek (be troubled about, bother about, deplore, feel bad about, feel badly about, fret, grieve, have the hump, languish, regret, rue, sadden, sorrow, trouble, worry, worry oneself), dert vermek (grieve), zahmet (exertion, grueling, gruelling, inconvenience, onerousness, pain, pains, painstaking, punishment, struggle, toil, travail, trouble), rahat vermemek (badger, beleaguer, beset, disturb), rahatsız etmek (ail, annoy, badger, bait, chafe, chivvy, chivy, derange, devil, discomfort, discommode, distract, disturb, get in smb.'s hair, goad, goad on, harass, hassle, hatchel, hump, incommode, inconvenience, irritate, make a draft on, pester, put smb. to inconvenience, put upon, trouble, twist smb.'s tail, worry), sıkıntı (adversity, agitation, annoyance, anxiety, bore, boredom, botheration, difficulty, dire straits, discomfort, distress, doldrums, draft, embarrassment, famine, fear, fret, gloom, gloominess, grayness, greyness, groan, hardship, heebie-jeebies, inconvenience, incubus, infliction, load, megrims, mopes, nuisance, oppression, pill, pip, pressure, rigor, rigour, rock, scrape, Strait, straits, stringency, tedium, the megrims, toil, toils, tribulation, trouble, vexation, weight, willies), sıkmak (ail, bore, Chevy, chivvy, chivy, clench, constipate, constrict, crush, cumber, depress, distress, extrude, give the willies, grip, harass, hatchel, hold tight, incommode, irk, jam, load, make fast, mope, oppress, pinch, press, pressurize, pull on, ream, ream out, squeeze, straiten, strangulate, tighten), sinir bozmak (annoy, get on one's nerves, irritate, make angry, unhinge), sinir etmek (annoy, discomfit, get on one's nerves, irritate, jangle one's nerves, make angry, nettle, peeve, rasp, rattle, rub smb. up the wrong way, string up), takmak (affix, attach, fix, fixate, give a damn, hang, hang on, hitch, hook, infix, set, snag, stick, stock, string, thread, wear), dert (affliction, bore, botheration, complaint, cross, distress, dolor, dolour, evil, fear, grief, grievance, headache, heartache, ill, mopes, nuisance, pain, pip, plague, pother, rock, scourge, solicitudes, sorrow, suffering, throe, trial, tribulation, trouble, woe, worry). (various references)

Turkmen 

pдsgel bermek, яьrege dьюmek (annoy). (various references)

Ukrainian

хвилюватися (care, create, effervesce, fidget, flutter, grizzle, mind, raise a dust, run high, stew, throb, wave, welter), турбуватися (care, feel bad, take care, trouble), турбота (anxiety, care, charge, concern, inconvenience, preoccupation, solicitude, suspense, trouble, work, worry), клопіт (ado, botheration, drag, fash), відчепись (off), неспокій (anxiety, botheration, disquiet, fidget, inquietude, trouble, unquote, unrest, worry), непокоїти (afflict, ail, disquiet, harass), набридати (aggravate, dun, interfere, persecute, tease, tire, weary, worry), набридлива людина, надокучати (annoy, bore, hassle, molest, pester, vex). (various references)

Vietnamese 

phiền quá, điều phiền muộn sự lo lắng chà, điều khó chịu (annoyance, plague, vexation), điều buồn bực (botheration), điều bực mình (annoyance, displeasure). (various references)

Welsh

blino (aggrieve, ail, annoy, bore, get tired, tire, trouble, vex, weary), trafferthu (trouble), trafferth (trouble), helynt (ado, affair, fuss, trouble), cyboli (mess, muddle, talk nonsense). (various references)

bodhairim. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "bother": botheration, botherations, bothered, bothering, bothers, bothersome. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Bother" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: bathear, Bekhor, Berther, bether, bioherm, bither, bochur, Bodhi, Boehmer, bohea, boher, Bohor, bohr, bohta, Bokha, Bokhary, Boltho, Bonheure, boothe, boother, borther, Bosher, botehs, Boter, bot'er, botha, bothe, Bothem, bothen, Botherim, Bothun, botter, Boyter, Bozhe, Buthe, Fother, gother, Hothar, vother. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: berth, broth, other, throb, throe.

-2 letters: beth, bore, bort, both, herb, hero, hoer, robe, rote, thro, tore.

-3 letters: bet, bot, bro, eth, her, het, hob, hoe, hot, obe, orb, ore, ort, reb, ret, rho, rob, roe, rot, the, tho, toe, tor.

-4 letters: be, bo, eh, er, et, he, ho, oe, oh, or, re, to.

+1 letter: bethorn, betroth, botcher, bothers, brothel, brother, potherb, theorbo.

+2 letters: bathrobe, bethorns, betroths, botchers, botchery, botchier, bothered, brothels, brothers, potherbs, rebought, theorbos, throbbed, throbber.

+3 letters: abhorrent, bathrobes, bethorned, betrothal, betrothed, blotchier, bothering, brochette, brothered, brotherly, bryophyte, buhrstone, earthborn, exhibitor, hellbroth, hereabout, throbbers.

+4 letters: beachfront, bethorning, betrothals, betrotheds, betrothing, bichromate, birthstone, botcheries, bothersome, broadsheet, brochettes, brothering, bryophytes, buhrstones, chatterbox, earthbound, exhibitors, exhibitory, heartthrob, hellbroths, hereabouts, hibernator, overbought, overbright, prohibited, shortbread, smoothbore, tarbooshes, thereabout, thromboses, whereabout, whiteboard.