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father

[ fah-ther ]

/ ˈfɑ ðər /

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See synonyms for: father / fathered / fatherlike on Thesaurus.com

Definition of father

noun

a male parent.

a father-in-law, stepfather, or adoptive father.

any male ancestor, especially the founder of a family or line; progenitor.

a man who exercises paternal care over other persons; paternal protector or provider: a father to the poor.

a person who has originated or established something: the father of modern psychology; the founding fathers.

a precursor, prototype, or early form: The horseless carriage was the father of the modern automobile.

one of the most well-known or prominent men in a city, town, etc.: a scandal involving several of the city fathers.

Chiefly British. the oldest member of a society, profession, etc.Compare dean (def. 3).

(initial capital letter)Theology. the Supreme Being and Creator; God.

Literary. a title of respect for an elderly man, or for something personified as an elderly man: Father Time.

the Father, Theology. 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.

Ecclesiastical.

(often initial capital letter) a title of reverence, as for church dignitaries, officers of monasteries, monks, confessors, and especially priests.
a person bearing this title.

fathers, Roman History. conscript fathers.

to beget; be the father of: He fathered seven children over three marriages.

to be the creator, founder, or author of; originate.

to care for or protect like a father; act paternally toward: He’s always fathering me and telling me to eat more vegetables.Our cat fathered the orphaned kittens.

Archaic. to acknowledge oneself the father of: He would only father the novel if it became popular.

to assume as one's own; take the responsibility of.

to charge with the begetting of.

verb (used without object)

to perform the tasks or duties of a male parent; act paternally: He fathers like he’s been doing it for years, though his kid is only three months old.

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Origin of father

First recorded before 900; Middle English fader, Old English fæder; cognate with German Vater, Latin pater, Greek patḗr, Sanskrit pitar-, Old Irish athir, Armenian hayr; all from Proto-Indo-European pətḗr. As in mother, th was substituted for d, possibly on the model of brother.

OTHER WORDS FROM father

fa·ther·like, adjective

Words nearby father

fath., fathead, fatheaded, fathead minnow, fat hen, father, Father Christmas, father confessor, father figure, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, fatherhood

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use father in a sentence

“I think that Joe Biden will be the person to protect Anthony and those with preexisting conditions,” the father says.
Trump contradicts CDC director on vaccine; Biden says Americans shouldn’t trust Trump|Colby Itkowitz, Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner|September 16, 2020|Washington Post
Six unknowing months before the start of the Great Depression, my father arrived.
Dawn of the Heliocene - Issue 90: Something Green|Summer Praetorius|September 16, 2020|Nautilus
While DeFazio and other lawmakers haven’t called for a permanent grounding of the jet, the father of a woman who died in the Ethiopia crash said the report raised questions about the plane’s return to service.
Boeing crashes were the “horrific culmination” of multiple mistakes, House report says|kdunn6|September 16, 2020|Fortune
I have been yelled at basically my entire life, from my father, my family, to high school.
Momofuku’s David Chang on the big changes the restaurant industry needs to make to survive|Beth Kowitt|September 14, 2020|Fortune

Anthony Mallott said that no one asked his father to resign, and that he did so voluntarily.
The Woman Propositioned by Alaska’s Former Lieutenant Governor Tells Her Story for the First Time|by Kyle Hopkins and Michelle Theriault Boots, Anchorage Daily News|September 10, 2020|ProPublica
What matters is being honest, humble, and a faithful and loyal friend, father and member of your community.
Abramoff’s Advice for Virginia’s New Jailhouse Guv|Tim Mak, Jackie Kucinich|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Father Joel Román Salazar died in a car crash in 2013; his death was ruled an accident, but the suspicion of foul play persists.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Charles “Father” Coughlin, a raving anti-Semite, was one of the most popular radio hosts in the country.
Why Was Bess Myerson the First and Last Jewish Miss America?|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
You will have your beloved father back sooner than you think, and you can visit and communicate with him all the while.
Abramoff’s Advice for Virginia’s New Jailhouse Guv|Tim Mak, Jackie Kucinich|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“There is a heavy security presence but nothing has changed,” agrees Father Javier.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
There was a rumor that Alessandro and his father had both died; but no one knew anything certainly.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
And he was gone, and out of sight on the swift galloping Benito, before Father Gaspara bethought himself.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
At this same time they seized in Nangasaqui a servant of the father provincial, Matheo Couros, who was washing his clothes.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
He wanted to tell her that if she called her father, it would mean the end of everything for them, but he withheld this.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
The Father had been in sore straits of mind, as month after month had passed without tidings of his "blessed child."
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson

British Dictionary definitions for father (1 of 2)

father

/ (ˈfɑːðə) /

noun

a male parent

a person who founds a line or family; forefather

any male acting in a paternal capacityRelated adjective: paternal

(often capital) a respectful term of address for an old man

a male who originates somethingthe father of modern psychology

a leader of an association, council, etc; eldera city father

British the eldest or most senior member in a society, profession, etcfather of the bar

(often plural) a senator or patrician in ancient Rome

the father of informal a very large, severe, etc, example of a specified kindthe father of a whipping

verb (tr)

to procreate or generate (offspring); beget

to create, found, originate, etc

to act as a father to

to acknowledge oneself as father or originator of

(foll by on or upon) to impose or place without a just reason

Derived forms of father

fathering, noun

Word Origin for father

Old English fæder; related to Old Norse fathir, Old Frisian feder, Old High German fater, Latin pater, Greek patēr, Sanskrit pitr

British Dictionary definitions for father (2 of 2)

Father

/ (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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with father

father

see like father, like son.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.