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.
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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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
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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.
-
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
-
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:
Henry's father, Mark Nowak, echoed this: "It's an absolute disgrace. Let's be honest."
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Ciarra Docampo’s father, Fernando Ramirez, who was born in Spain, is described in French court papers as an anarchist with connections to the Basque separatist movement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
Now, 151 years after Pacheco’s spell as governor, Xavier Becerra puts his Mexican lineage front and center: his mother born in Jalisco, and his father born in Sacramento and raised in Tijuana.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
"My father is like my second God. I must honour him," she said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
It was on this day in January 1837 that Father’s father had placed in this window a sign: ten boom. watches.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
In Chulucanas, residents welcomed him warmly and Hispanicized his name, calling him Father Roberto.
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
In his homily, Father Martin Kelly, who knew Mageean from her childhood, spoke of her accomplishments, her love for her husband and the joy and pride she had brought to her hometown.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
"The Holy Father has also confirmed that, during his years of residence in Peru he exercised his right to vote whenever he was eligible to do so," the Vatican said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
As cars pulled up to the chapel, the sound of Father Roy Snipes' barking dogs signalled his arrival.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
Access to food is increasingly difficult; one night Father Monaghan watches an elderly man lead his son through the trash, searching for scraps.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Instead, after reflecting on the saying that victory has a hundred fathers while defeat is an orphan, he blamed himself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Caught in the middle of all this are fathers like Bajash, fighting to get help for their children.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Llewellyn emphasized that fathers and other male role models have an especially meaningful role to play.
From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2026
He’s obviously looked at as one of our founding fathers of of country music, and one of our patriarchal heroes of the genre.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Twelve-year-old girls drive wagons, and sixteen-year-old boys are left in charge of farms while their fathers go east for work.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
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
On a global basis, some men were uncomfortable providing a sample, while others assumed they had no fertility problems because they were sexually active or had previously fathered a child.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 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
Jesse’s age, the friend was unemployed, had just fathered a kid and gotten divorced.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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
Banbury Guide Dogs' star Trigger, dubbed the Dogfather, has retired from the charity's breeding program after fathering a grand total of 323 puppies.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2024
And Leon had not done so badly either, with his four marriages and dedicated fathering.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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