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

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Etymology

Origin of godfather

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

godfather godfathers

Later, the couple repaid the film producer by making him godfather to their daughter, Lilibet.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

Shepard has served as a sort of godfather for the Watergate revisionists.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Twana Jamal Khdir, an Iraqi national who was once described as "the godfather" of the French migrant camps, previously served a sentence for people smuggling in France.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 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

“Just in case you’ve forgotten,” said Harry, “I’ve already got a house, my godfather left me one. So why would I want this one? All the happy memories?”

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

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

At a different event in Washington, Sanders recently pressed Geoffrey Hinton, considered one of the godfathers of AI, on what AI could mean for employment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 14, 2025

For decades, Sean “Diddy” Combs promoted himself as one of the godfathers of hip-hop, a celebrity who transformed the genre and became a business estimated to top a billion dollars.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2024

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

In middle age he was the wealthy, respected man he had wanted to be when he was a struggling adolescent without godfathers and with no greater capital than his pride and ambition.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

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