Founding Fathers

American  

plural noun

1. the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.

2. (often lowercase) any group of founders.

   the town's founding fathers.

---

Founding Fathers Cultural  

1. A general name for male American patriots during the Revolutionary War, especially the signers of the Declaration of Independence and those who drafted the Constitution. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington were all Founding Fathers.

---

Example Sentences

Founding Fathers including Washington and Hamilton encouraged “manufactures External link,” though businesses in the early Republic were necessarily small and locally oriented.

From Barron's • May 2, 2026

A second limited-edition passport showed a historic painting of the US Founding Fathers.

From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026

America’s Founding Fathers used their positions to influence public health, recognizing early on that the economic, social and political vitality of the nation was intertwined with the physical health of its citizens.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Imagine if the Founding Fathers were dropped into a Pittsburgh tavern on a fall Sunday afternoon with a Steelers game on.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

Two Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, look over the army in 1775 in Massachusetts.

From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen