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

He saw “The Godfather Part II,” and he knows he could pull it off, unlike those losers JFK and Michael Corleone.

From Salon • Jun. 23, 2026

KAT even had a cameo in the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada, which is like the Godfather œuvre for the NYC fashion media.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

Hinton, considered the "Godfather of AI", told the 2026 Digital World Conference in Geneva that there was a dire need to strengthen governance frameworks and ethical safeguards around the technology.

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026

On Sunday evening, a respectable crowd showed up in the Mojave Tent to pay their respects to the Godfather of Punk, who first played Coachella in a reunion with the Stooges in 2003.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

Armand was right—I did sound like Pacino from The Godfather.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini