father
noun
a man who begets offspring; a male parent.
father
American
[fah-ther]
/ ˈfɑ ðər /
noun
-
fathers
plural
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a man who begets offspring; a male parent.
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Often Father one’s own male parent.
When we were kids, Father read to us regularly.
My father is visiting us next week.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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a title for something personified as an older or elderly man.
Father Time.
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a term of familiar address for an old or elderly man.
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Theology. Often the Father
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the Supreme Being; God.
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Christianity. the first person of the Trinity.
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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.
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Roman History. fathers, conscript fathers.
adjective
verb (used with object)
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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.
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to be the male creator, founder, or author of; originate.
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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.
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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
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(often capital) a respectful term of address for an old man
-
a male who originates something
the father of modern psychology
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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
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to procreate or generate (offspring); beget
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to create, found, originate, etc
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to act as a father to
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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
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Also called: Church Father. any of the writers on Christian doctrine of the pre-Scholastic period
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a title used for Christian priests
father
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fathersimple
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fatherssimple
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have fatheredperfect
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has fatheredperfect
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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:
His father Rande Gerber, a well-known businessman, co-founded the Casamigos tequila brand with George Clooney.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
“Out of all these people, this one character just happens to pick them out in the dark,” said the 35-year-old father from Rochester, N.Y.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Looking back, I suspect my father had recently begun making a little more money, because that afternoon we bought two things I distinctly remember never having had before: Kerrygold butter and a jar of Rao’s.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
The father of the sisters, who were all living together in Greenford, London, formally identified their bodies.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
‘Your father knew what he was doing,’ said Fin-Kedinn.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Father and son will be in the lab soon, refining a still-developing game, and trying to get a U.S. man over the line.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Boomers have the money, GLP-1s are creating a new class of aesthetic patients, and Father Time remains undefeated.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026
Ateneo de Zamboanga president Father Guillrey Andal, confirming the two fatalities, said the school was "deeply saddened" by the shooting and was cooperating with the investigation.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
Father and son witnessed Europe's last total solar eclipse together in 1999 while stood atop St Agnes Beacon in Cornwall.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Maybe Father likes how the sky makes people feel small?
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Edward Seaman and Julia Coombs both lost their fathers and found each other.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
One thing Steven and his aunt had in common: Their love of real estate began with their fathers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
Using the word "soft" to describe telling your children you love them reflects long-standing attitudes many fathers have towards parenting, both Dale and Dr Britto suggest.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
Shah told parliament on Wednesday the disaster "snatched away mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers from us in an instant".
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
It was because both of their fathers had done what they knew was right, and those were two opposite things.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
He eventually fathered a child with a new wife, but that marriage collapsed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 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 35-year-old American, who currently lives in Ireland, is an online sperm donor who says he has fathered "dozens" of children all over the world, including three in Scotland.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Some males fathered more calves than others, but the difference was not as extreme as researchers had expected.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 4, 2026
Here he married, built a great manor house, fathered Antiphates and Mantios, commanders both, of whom Antiphates begot Oikleies and Oikleies the firebrand Amphiaraos.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
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
As older whales became more common, they also became more successful at fathering calves than their younger competitors.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 5, 2026
He was investigated at the time for embezzlement and fathering several children, but was later cleared of the charges.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2025
Farming I never cared for, nor life at home, nor fathering fair children.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
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.
