From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishparentpar‧ent1 /ˈpeərənt $ ˈper-/ ●●● S1 W1 noun [countable] 1 SSFFAMILYthe father or mother of a person or animal Children under 14 should be accompanied by a parent. The eggs are guarded by both parents. Melissa’s spending the weekend at her parents’ house. → birth parent, → foster parents at foster2(1), → lone parent at lone(2), → one-parent family, single parent2 COME FROM/ORIGINATEsomething that produces other things of the same type New shoots appear near the parent plant.3 a company which owns a smaller company or organization Land Rover’s new parentCOLLOCATIONSADJECTIVES/NOUN + parenta single parent (also a lone parent British English) (=someone who has their children living with them, but no partner)My mum is a single parent.somebody's biological/natural parentsMost children are reared by their natural parents.somebody's birth parents (=the ones who are biologically related to them)Only half the children who are adopted wish to discover their birth parents.somebody's real parents (=their biological parents)I was thrilled to have found my real parents.adoptive parents (=the people who take someone else's child into their home and legally become his or her parents)Adoptive parents often have little practical preparation for parenthood.a foster parent (=someone who has other people's children living with them)Teresa was removed from her mother's care and placed with foster parents.
Examples from the Corpus
parent• Margaret shows the 13 parents how to make things and they show their children.• To me, it was normal to have parents who worked and were devoted to their children.• Once, after he had been absent a fortnight, the principal tackled his parents.• I'd like you to meet my parents sometime.• The airline's parent, AMR Corp., lost $115 million in the first nine months.• All these children are mutant children of the same parent, differing from their parent with respect to one gene each.• Some parents will terminate contact with the therapist because they do not understand why certain questions are being asked.• Panic-stricken parents, their faces twisted in fear, ran to the school and frantically searched for their sons or daughters.• Yet parents above all need those congenial working conditions if they are to parent well.parentparent2 verb [intransitive, transitive] to look after your child and help them to develop well and learn how to behave We help people to parent their children more effectively.From Longman Business Dictionaryparentpar‧ent /ˈpeərəntˈper-/ (also parent company) noun [countable]FINANCE if one company is the parent of another, it owns at least half the shares in the other company, and has control over itThe Minneapolis-based parent of investment firm Piper announced record revenue and earnings.This is an opportunity to improve the capital position of both the parent company and its subsidiaries.Origin parent (1400-1500) Old French Latin, present participle of parere “to give birth to” 