Crossword Genius

Gather there's a mother ship (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

amass

'gather' is the definition.
('amass' can be a synonym of 'gather')

'there's a mother ship' is the wordplay.
'there's' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'mother' becomes 'ma' (ma is a kind of mother).
'ship' becomes 'ss'.
'a'+'ma' is 'ama'.
'ama'+'ss'='AMASS'

(Other definitions for amass that I've seen before include "Put together" , "Accrue, heap up" , "Assemble" , "Accumulate over time" , "Accumulate, heap up" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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