papa
noun
papa
American
[pah-puh, puh-pah]
/ ˈpɑ pə, pəˈpɑ /
noun
-
papas
plural
-
Papa, a code word used in communications, especially by radio, to represent the letter P.
Papa
1
British
/ ˈpɑːpɑː /
noun
papa
2
British
/ pəˈpɑː /
noun
papa
3
British
/ ˈpɑːpɑː /
noun
papa
4
British
/ ˈpɑːpa /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of papa
First recorded in 1675–85; from French; Middle French pappa (nursery word); compare Latin pāpa “father” ( see pope), Old Norse pāpi, pabbi “father”; see pap 1
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:
May’s papa party offered, along with the suds, a learning experience and camaraderie among fathers, which Nieves believes is much needed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
‘You’ve got to take care of mama bear and papa bear first.’
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 16, 2025
When Gustav swaggers back into the daughters’ lives to play the cheery grandfather and beloved papa, both are skeptical.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
To me, and everyone else in my family, he’s always been papa.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2025
“But it was your papa Joseph, Delsie. He was the one who told me a man is not made by his mistakes. He’s made by what he does about them.”
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
In the meantime, Papa John’s board has decided to suspend the company’s quarterly dividend, beginning in the third quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Give Papa Harry, Aunt Karen, and my dad a hug for me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
Lead author Alan Tennyson of Te Papa said many bird species have reached New Zealand over millions of years, but the ancestors of some of the country's best known large birds arrived surprisingly recently.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
Even if net expansion significantly slows from the 175 new U.S. stores the company was aiming for this year, Domino’s is still growing every year while Pizza Hut and Papa John’s are shrinking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
“I wouldn’t feel too bad about this if I were you,” Papa said.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
As a result, this specific babbling bent makes "dadas," "babas" and "papas" – along with "apas" and "abas" – very popular things for little Carlos or Keisha to say while hanging out in the crib.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2022
And “Rutherford Falls” co-creator Sierra Teller Ornelas tweeted, “This may seem like a small papas thing, but all we hear is ‘you folks have no stars to build projects around’.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2022
He hits, in his way, the same notes as Ted Lasso: a man unabashed to be emotional, loving, kind, the proudest and most supportive of papas.
From Slate ● Dec. 12, 2020
They got their guy out there, and they’re like proud papas.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 5, 2020
Foods like frijoles and papas, clothing, plows, tools, nails, machetes, ropes, leather goods, baskets, comales for the toasting of tortillas and such, cleaning rags, buckets, and jeans jeans jeans, which have taken over.
From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads
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.
