godfather

American  

[god-fah-ther] / ˈgɒdˌfɑ ðər /

noun

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.

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

• godfatherly adjective

Etymology

Origin of godfather

before 1000; Middle English godfader, Old English godfæder; god, father

Example Sentences

In Districts 3 and 4, they ran younger members of the family, better educated and with less of a godfather image than the older generation.

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026

Hubbard, who is crashing at the home of her godfather in Arkansas, said she’s considering it.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2026

Netflix, as the godfather of movie streaming, has historically bypassed theatrical runs and sent only some of its original films to theaters for brief periods.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025

He was, after all, employed and mentored by Peter Thiel of Palantir, the godfather of the recent surge of military research and financing in Silicon Valley.

From Salon • Nov. 27, 2025

Ben said putting his arm around his godfather and hugging his neck.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy