founding father

British

noun

(often capitals) a person who founds or establishes an important institution, esp a member of the US Constitutional Convention (1787)

"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

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.

Khamenei became supreme leader in 1989 after the death of the Islamic Republic's founding father, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

Biographer Ron Chernow calls Washington’s decision to free his slaves “glorious. . . . He did what no other founding father dared to do.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 25, 2026

Labour's heritage in these parts includes some of the most consequential names in its long history: founding father Keir Hardie, NHS founder Nye Bevan, former leaders Michael Foot and Neil Kinnock.

From BBC • Oct. 24, 2025

Perhaps they will invoke the advice of one founding father, Benjamin Franklin, who wrote that "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."

From Salon • Apr. 6, 2025

In scientific terms, though, Tyson is regarded as the founding father of comparative anatomy, which looks at the physical relationships between different species.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023