fatherhood
Americannoun
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the state of being a father.
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fathers collectively.
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the qualities or spirit of a father.
Usage
What does fatherhood mean? Fatherhood is the state of being a father.A person enters fatherhood when they become a father. This most commonly happens when their child is born, but it can also happen through adoption or by marrying or becoming a partner to someone with children.Fatherhood is a gender-specific version of the term parenthood.Less commonly, fatherhood can refer to all fathers collectively, as in You won’t find a better dad in all of fatherhood. Example: People who have not experienced fatherhood probably shouldn’t be so quick to criticize how dads parent their children.
Etymology
Origin of fatherhood
1350–1400; late Middle English faderhode; replacing Middle English faderheed. See father, -hood
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.
Conversely, for men, fatherhood comes with the opposite effect.
From Salon
"The human part of him, leadership, musicianship, fatherhood, that was the epitome of who he was."
From BBC
The album's central theme is the ecstasy and chaos of fatherhood, with Dijon addressing the title track to his firstborn, then imploring his wife to expand the family on the subtly-titled Another Baby!
From BBC
It was an ordeal that inspired a refreshingly honest core of his latest hour titled, simply, “Life,” which focused on struggles with conception, IVF and new fatherhood.
From Los Angeles Times
Series writer Taylor Sheridan was giving viewers exactly what they wanted: Thornton, wearing a cowboy hat and a seen-it-all look, going off on topics from fatherhood to fracking.
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.
