bother: Meaning and Definition of

both•er

Pronunciation: (bo'ur), [key]
— v.t.
  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.
—v.i.
  1. to take the trouble; trouble or inconvenience oneself: Don't bother to call. He has no time to bother with trifles.
—n.
  1. something troublesome, burdensome, or annoying: Doing the laundry every week can be a terrible bother.
  2. effort, work, or worry: Gardening takes more bother than it's worth.
  3. a worried or perplexed state: Don't get into such a bother about small matters.
  4. someone or something that bothers or annoys: My cousin is a perpetual bother to me.
—interj.
  1. (used to express mild irritation.)
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
See also: