daddy
Americannoun
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Informal. a diminutive of dad.
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Slang. sugar daddy.
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Slang. an affectionate or familiar term of address to a boyfriend or male romantic partner, especially if he is older.
verb (used with object)
idioms
noun
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an informal word for father
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slang the supreme or finest example
the daddy of them all
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slang the dominant male in a group; boss; top man
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of daddy
Explanation
Daddy is an affectionate nickname for your father. For many babies, daddy is one of the earliest words they learn to speak. Many young children call their fathers daddy, and the word is believed to come from baby talk, or the initial sounds — da da — that a baby or toddler tends to make when she's first learning to speak. It's less common for a grown person to call her dad daddy, although some people use the childish nickname throughout their lives.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Daddy forces them to hand him their company and banishes Jimmy to the Latitude mailroom.
From Salon • May 29, 2026
The winner of eight Latin Grammy Awards made her Coachella debut in 2022 with a performance that paid tribute to Latin music icons such as Selena, Celia Cruz, and Daddy Yankee.
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
“I remember my mom saying in those early days when Daddy died: ‘You have to get up and decide and do,’” Savannah Guthrie said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
Someone with a battery-powered speaker hit “play” on a song, the 2004 Daddy Yankee hit “Gasolina.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2026
When we got to the far end of the orchard, didn’t Daddy look up at the stars, take a deep breath and say, “We are the earth’s caretakers, Ida B.”
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
