father
( fathers plural & 3rd person present) ( fathering present participle) ( fathered past tense & past participle )
1 n-family Your father is your male parent. You can also call someone your father if he brings you up as if he was this man.
His father was a painter..., He would be a good father to my children., ...Mr Stoneman, a father of five.
2 verb When a man fathers a child, he makes a woman pregnant and their child is born.
She claims Mark fathered her child... V n
He fathered at least three children by the wives of other men. V n by n
3 n-count The man who invented or started something is sometimes referred to as the father of that thing.
N of n
...Max Dupain, regarded as the father of modern photography.
4 n-voc; n-title; n-count In some Christian churches, priests are addressed or referred to as Father.
Father Christmas
Father Christmas is the name given to an imaginary old man with a long white beard and a red coat. Traditionally, young children in many countries are told that he brings their Christmas presents.
(BRIT) n-proper
(=Santa Claus)
in AM, use Santa Claus
father figure ( father figures plural ) , father-figure If you describe someone as a father figure, you mean that you feel able to turn to that person for advice and support in the same way that you might turn to your father. n-count
She believed her daughter needed a father-figure..., He became a father figure to the whole company.
father-in-law ( fathers-in-law plural ) Someone's father-in-law is the father of their husband or wife. n-count usu poss N
Father's Day
Father's Day is the third Sunday in June, when children give cards and presents to their fathers to show that they love them. n-uncount
founding father ( founding fathers plural )
1 n-count The founding father of an institution, organization, or idea is the person who sets it up or who first develops it.
LITERARY oft N of n
(=founder)
2 n-proper-plural The Founding Fathers of the United States were the members of the American Constitutional Convention of 1787.
Holy Father
In the Catholic Church, the Holy Father is the Pope. n-proper the N