godfather

American  

[god-fah-ther] / ˈgɒdˌfɑ ðər /

noun

• godfathers
  plural

1. a man who serves as sponsor for a child at baptism.

2. any male sponsor or guardian.

3. (often initial capital letter) a powerful leader, especially of the Mafia.

4. a person who is regarded as the originator or principal shaper of a movement, school of thought, art form, industry, or the like.

   the godfather of abstract expressionism.

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verb (used with object)

1. to act as godfather to; be sponsor or protector for.

godfather British  

/ ˈɡɒdˌfɑːðə /

noun

1. a male godparent

2. the head of a Mafia family or other organized criminal ring

3. an originator or leading exponent

   the godfather of South African pop

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• godfatherly
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• godfathers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of godfather

before 1000; Middle English godfader, Old English godfæder; see origin at god, father

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

godfather godfathers

Bengio is a University of Montreal professor who won the 2018 Turing Award, computing's Nobel, alongside Geoffrey Hinton, widely known as the "godfather of AI."

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

Lindsey Graham and Mark Sanford were once close; so much so that Mr. and Mrs. Sanford, as they then were, named Graham godfather to their youngest son.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

His favorite parts of the city are its repertory cinemas and lush neighborhoods like Mount Washington, where his godfather resides, because they look the most like Vancouver.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

Convicted people smuggler Twana Jamal, once described as "the godfather" of the French migrant camps, is living and working in Leicestershire, and believed to be seeking asylum, a BBC investigation can reveal.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

My godfather, Jimmy Papanikolas, took me from my father’s arms.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Several key figures have since walked out, among them Yann LeCun, considered one of the "godfathers" of modern AI, who had led Meta's AI research since 2013.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

LeCun, often described as one of the godfathers of AI, created an AI research organization inside Facebook in 2013 and became Meta’s chief AI scientist a few years later.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026

Merrick Bobb, one of the godfathers of the modern police oversight movement in Los Angeles and beyond, has died.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2025

Neil said their parallel lives were not limited to their playing careers, remarking that they married their partners, "then it was godfathers to each other's kids. And then divorced."

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2024

The next Saturday, Desdemona, seized with conflicting emotions, watched as the children’s godfathers held them above the baptismal font at Assumption.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides