godfather

1 of 2

noun

god·​fa·​ther ˈgäd-ˌfä-t͟hər 

also ˈgȯd-

1

: a man who sponsors a person at baptism

2

: one having a relation to someone or something analogous to that of a male sponsor to his godchild: such as

a

: one that founds, supports, or inspires

… made him the godfather of a whole generation of rebels.

—The Times Literary Supplement (London)

b

: the leader of an organized crime syndicate

godfather

2 of 2

verb

godfathered; godfathering; godfathers

transitive verb

: to act as godfather to

Examples of godfather in a Sentence

Noun

Her uncle is her godfather.

Many people regard him as the godfather of rock and roll.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

That turned out to be the Oceanfast, which came with the bonus of being designed by the legendary Jon Bannenberg, considered the godfather of modern yacht design. —Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 14 Nov. 2025

The actress behind Eleven has revealed that Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers on the Netflix sci-fi hit, is the godfather of her baby daughter. —Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Nov. 2025

Verb

Murdoch’s political ally, godfather to one of Rupert’s young daughters with Deng – have to do with this? —Kim Masters, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 July 2022

Even the beginning is a little iffy: Where does godfather Drosselmeyer come from? —John Anderson, WSJ, 9 Dec. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1651, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for godfather

• forefather
• grandfather
• stepfather
• bother
• father

Kids Definition

godfather

noun

god·​fa·​ther

ˈgäd-ˌfät͟h-ər

also ˈgȯd-

: a male sponsor at baptism