mother country noun
plural ∼ -tries [count] 1 : the country where people who live in a colony or former colony came from — usually singular — usually used with the ▪ The colonies rebelled against the mother country. 2 : the country where you were born or where your family came from : motherland — usually singular ▪ Her books have sold better abroad than in her mother country. — often used with the ▪ an immigrant's nostalgia for the mother country
