Definition of forefather
1
: ancestor 1a
2
: a person of an earlier period and common heritage
- Trending Now: More Trending:
- asylum insubordinate promulgate epochal clemency
- ALL
What's Trending Now
More Trending Words
Examples of forefather in a Sentence
our forefathers bought this farm, and our family has worked it for three generations
Recent Examples of forefather from the Web
-
The nation’s forefather craft brewery, Anchor Brewing, belonged to Fritz Maytag, who, like John Hall, was a child of means from small‐town Iowa.
-
Its origins owe more to Joseph Chamberlain, the 19th-century Liberal politician and forefather of municipalism, says Laurie Laybourn-Langton of IPPR, a think-tank.
-
The forefather to such boxing greats as Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali, Johnson established himself as a top fighter by beating Denver Ed Martin for the Negro Heavyweight Championship in 1903.
-
Get to know the forefathers, hear funny chicken stories, see antique items related to chicken.
-
For the spring gala on May 3, the attention switches to City Ballet’s other artistic forefather, Jerome Robbins, who was born a century ago and died in 1998.
-
Wednesday’s set in Baltimore proved GVF eschews direct comparisons to their direct musical forefathers for a reason.
-
For visitors, the project aims to provide the information needed for an inspirational experience, seeing where Christian forefathers walked and exploring holy sites, said Eckstein.
-
An original Panther and the forefather of our franchise, Mr. Torrey had a champion’s spirit and lived for the game.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'forefather.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of forefather
14th century
forefather Synonyms
Synonyms
ancestor, father, forebear (also forbear), forebearer, grandfather, primogenitor, progenitor;
Antonyms
descendant (also descendent);
Related Words
FOREFATHER Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of forefather for English Language Learners
-
: a person (especially a man) who was in your family in past times
-
: a person (especially a man) from an earlier time who helped to create or start something modern or important
FOREFATHER Defined for Kids
Learn More about forefather
-
See words that rhyme with forefather Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for forefather Spanish Central: Translation of forefather Nglish: Translation of forefather for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of forefather for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up forefather? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
