father
noun
a man who begets offspring; a male parent.
father
American
[fah-ther]
/ ˈfɑ ðər /
noun
-
fathers
plural
-
a man who begets offspring; a male parent.
-
Often Father one’s own male parent.
When we were kids, Father read to us regularly.
My father is visiting us next week.
-
a father-in-law, stepfather, foster father, male adoptive parent, or male guardian.
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Usually Father a term of address for a male parent or a man having or regarded as having the status, function, or authority of a male parent.
How are you, Father?
-
any male ancestor, especially the founder of a family or line; progenitor.
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a man providing care or exercising influence or authority like that of a male parent.
The late professor was a father to all his students.
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the qualities characteristic of a father, such as paternal affection, protectiveness, responsibility, etc..
He had been quite a rake, but his newborn daughter quickly brought out the father in him.
-
a man who has originated or established something.
Freud is often called the father of modern psychology.
The founding fathers of America took care to separate church and state.
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an early form; forerunner or prototype.
The horseless carriage was the father of the modern automobile.
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one of the most well-known or prominent men in a city, town, etc..
There was a scandal involving several of the city fathers.
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Chiefly British. the oldest living or serving member of a society, profession, etc.
-
a title for something personified as an older or elderly man.
Father Time.
-
a term of familiar address for an old or elderly man.
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Theology. Often the Father
-
the Supreme Being; God.
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Christianity. the first person of the Trinity.
-
-
Also called church father. Church History. any of the chief early Christian writers, whose works are the main sources for the history, doctrines, and observances of the church in the early ages.
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Ecclesiastical.
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Usually Father a title of reverence, as for church dignitaries, officers of monasteries, monks, confessors, and especially priests.
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Often Father a person bearing this title.
He is a father in the Catholic church.
-
-
Roman History. fathers, conscript fathers.
adjective
verb (used with object)
-
fathers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fathered,
past participle, past
-
fathering
present participle
-
to beget; be the father of.
He fathered seven children over three marriages.
-
to be the male creator, founder, or author of; originate.
-
to care for or protect like a father; act paternally toward.
He’s always fathering me and checking the oil in my car.
After Dad died, my uncle fathered my brother and me.
-
Archaic. to acknowledge oneself the father or originator of.
He would only father the novel if it became popular.
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Archaic. to assume as one's own; take the responsibility of.
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Archaic. to charge someone with the begetting of.
Do not try to father the boy on me.
verb (used without object)
-
fathers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fathered,
past participle, past
-
fathering
present participle
father
1
British
/ ˈfɑːðə /
noun
-
a male parent
-
a person who founds a line or family; forefather
-
any male acting in a paternal capacity
-
(often capital) a respectful term of address for an old man
-
a male who originates something
the father of modern psychology
-
a leader of an association, council, etc; elder
a city father
-
the eldest or most senior member in a society, profession, etc
father of the bar
-
(often plural) a senator or patrician in ancient Rome
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informal a very large, severe, etc, example of a specified kind
the father of a whipping
verb
-
to procreate or generate (offspring); beget
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to create, found, originate, etc
-
to act as a father to
-
to acknowledge oneself as father or originator of
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to impose or place without a just reason
Father
2
British
/ ˈfɑːðə /
noun
-
God, esp when considered as the first person of the Christian Trinity
-
Also called: Church Father. any of the writers on Christian doctrine of the pre-Scholastic period
-
a title used for Christian priests
father
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
fathersimple
-
fatherssimple
-
have fatheredperfect
-
has fatheredperfect
-
am fatheringprogressive
-
are fatheringprogressive
-
is fatheringprogressive
-
have been fatheringperfect progressive
-
has been fatheringperfect progressive
Past
-
fatheredsimple
-
had fatheredperfect
-
was fatheringprogressive
-
were fatheringprogressive
-
had been fatheringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of father
First recorded before 900; Middle English fader, Old English fæder; cognate with Dutch vader, German Vater, Old Norse fathir; akin to Armenian hayr, Greek patḗr, Irish athair, Latin pater, Persian pedar, Sanskrit pitar-
Explanation
The verb father means to make children. If your dog, Tramp, fathers three puppies with the neighbor's dog, Lady, he is their father. A father is a male parent. Everyone has a biological father, even if they're not raised by him. You might call your father Dad, Daddy, Papa, Pops, or even Father. A man who helped found something, or invent it, can be called the father of that entity or invention. George Washington is considered a father of the United States, and Alexander Graham Bell is often referred to as the father of the telephone.
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.
See Examples For:
It’s an extension of an ethos championed by Dumas’s father, Jean-Louis, who ran the company for close to three decades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
Since about 2017, a more mysterious figure has appeared by Holmes’s side: Billy Evans, Holmes’s 34-year-old partner and the father of her two children.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
"My mother and father told me the story," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
One grief-stricken father showed AFP a picture on his mobile phone of his young daughter, dressed in red and gold, who lost her life.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
I clear my throat and smile politely at my father.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Father Mark Mannion said he's seen an influx of people coming into St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Church since the news broke.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
A couple of years ago, in a column about Father Greg Boyle, I noted that he is quite particular and even a bit preachy about the right way to eat a steak.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Buffett concluded his letter by saying it had been the "privilege of a lifetime" to serve as chairman, but acknowledged that in the end, "Father Time always wins".
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Father and son are helped by a trio of friendly spirits, who enter Lincoln’s body and encourage him to accept Willie’s demise, so that Willie can move on as well.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Father Forbes Monaghan, a Jesuit priest from America, arrives at Ateneo de Manila University in Manila in the summer of 1940 to teach philosophy.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Similarly, we both embrace holy tradition, including the Bible, the church fathers and the seven ancient ecumenical councils, and we venerate the cross, Mary, saints, icons and holy relics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
The show’s big themes are personal, not political: identity, love, loss, fathers and sons, family freedom, connection and being “real.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
"Much like the father in the story, my own dad... was an accountant, but he quit his job to grow tomatoes. So it kind of touches on both of our fathers," he told BBC Newsday.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Research has shown that fathers, especially men in their 20s through early 40s, are disproportionately affected by preventable causes of death including suicide, overdose, homicide and accidental injury.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
Sick boys gathered under the trees and called for their mothers and fathers.
From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau
He eventually fathered a child with a new wife, but that marriage collapsed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
He’d dedicated the last 25 years to construction, during which he fathered three daughters and set roots in Compton.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
It also delves into his personal life, including his difficult childhood and the 14 known children he has fathered with a series of women.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
The donor Emily eventually used successfully, who we are calling Ryan, has fathered four children through Facebook groups.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
From their own mouths, I heard their stories of who had fathered their children.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
In 2015 he admitted to fathering a child with his lover.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
There’s little airtight data on the fathering brain; cohorts are small; some results await replication while others confound analysis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Even decades later, the legacy of whaling continues to shape whale populations, affecting not only how many whales exist today but also which males succeed in fathering calves.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 5, 2026
Men, he also argued, should store sperm in their teens to avoid an increased possibility of fathering children with developmental difficulties.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2025
Back then, Cool Papa Byrd had been light on the fathering side.
From "Clayton Byrd Goes Underground" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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