papa
noun
papa
American
[pah-puh, puh-pah]
/ ˈpɑ pə, pəˈpɑ /
noun
-
papas
plural
-
Papa, a code word used in communications, especially by radio, to represent the letter P.
Papa
1
British
/ ˈpɑːpɑː /
noun
papa
2
British
/ pəˈpɑː /
noun
papa
3
British
/ ˈpɑːpɑː /
noun
papa
4
British
/ ˈpɑːpa /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of papa
First recorded in 1675–85; from French; Middle French pappa (nursery word); compare Latin pāpa “father” ( see pope), Old Norse pāpi, pabbi “father”; see pap 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
May’s papa party offered, along with the suds, a learning experience and camaraderie among fathers, which Nieves believes is much needed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Hebel characterized Morrison as “very much like a papa bear, a protector” who was very close to Sheina, his only child.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
‘You’ve got to take care of mama bear and papa bear first.’
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 16, 2025
The IT engineer revealed Monzo only stopped when their four-year-old daughter started crying and said "mama" and "papa".
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025
Ella bit her bottom lip and thought of all the times she'd overheard her papa justify why she should go to the Institute.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
When 10th Street Entertainment’s merchandising director Ian Dietrich came across fanmade clothing with the Papa Roach lyric “Cut my life into pieces,” he didn’t try to take the shop down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Papa John’s now expects global, system-wide restaurant sales to fall between 2% and 4% this year, compared with a prior forecast for sales to be flat or down in the low-single-digits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Lead author Alan Tennyson of Te Papa said many bird species have reached New Zealand over millions of years, but the ancestors of some of the country's best known large birds arrived surprisingly recently.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
The Dundon family comprises the entire first two rows of names on the iconic chalice, even though Papa Dundon is the only one who holds a position within the organization.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
“Yes, and what a blowout with Papa that caused.”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
As a result, this specific babbling bent makes "dadas," "babas" and "papas" – along with "apas" and "abas" – very popular things for little Carlos or Keisha to say while hanging out in the crib.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2022
R&B-loving Filipina American friends launch the plant shop for ‘fly plant mamas and papas’
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2021
He hits, in his way, the same notes as Ted Lasso: a man unabashed to be emotional, loving, kind, the proudest and most supportive of papas.
From Slate ● Dec. 12, 2020
I unearthed, arguably, two such plates, including a papas con mole appetizer in which the house-cut fries had the texture of potatoes that were boiled, not fried.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 25, 2019
“I did what papas do. Now, let's enjoy your few weeks home. No more talk of this, okay?”
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
