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:
In June, his twin sons transferred to his alma mater from a Detroit prep school with hopes of making their papa proud and lifting the town’s spirit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2026
‘You’ve got to take care of mama bear and papa bear first.’
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 16, 2025
Someone’s got to pay as papa becomes grand-père, but the forecast is bleak.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 8, 2025
To me, and everyone else in my family, he’s always been papa.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2025
“Boy and girl. Aren’t they beauties?” said the proud papa, beaming upon the little red squirmers as if they were unfledged angels.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
His Papa Charles grappled the fish, and Walters held their catch.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
When at the Treasury, he reported holding a stake in Global Restaurant Management LLC, the parent company of a firm that operated multiple Papa Johns restaurants in Russia at the time.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
Her employer has financial interests in multiple high street pizza chains including Papa Johns and Domino's.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Sales growth has weakened and chains like Papa John’s and Pizza Hut are closing hundreds of U.S. locations as they try to turn around their brands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
I was lying there, feeling sorry for myself, and wondering how Rowdy was making out, when Papa and Daisy came into my room.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Nearby, Jazmin Vargas sat at a table enjoying chorizo con papas with her children, sister and niece.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2024
Back in the kitchen, Jaramillo is explaining the latest addition to the taco menu: Uncle P, a.k.a. papas con huevo.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 24, 2022
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
Families pressed around picnic tables piled high with homemade empanadas, papas fritas and steaming cups of morocho, a thick, sweet drink.
From New York Times ● May 30, 2021
“Because they had mamas and papas, too, Turner. You know about this stuff, right?”
From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt
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.
