founding father

British  

noun

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

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

founding father

This was radical stuff in 1776, when Abigail Adams, the redoubtable wife of John, the founding father and future president, was pleading with her husband to “remember the ladies.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Before he became a patriot and founding father, Benjamin Franklin was a businessman.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

He is "glad" people have begun to talk about the topic more and hopes this eventually leads to a reckoning - one that reawakens the ideals of their defiant, optimistic founding father.

From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026

Ghana's government has removed the name of a coup leader, who helped overthrow founding father Kwame Nkrumah exactly 60 years ago, from the country's main airport.

From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026

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