founder

1 of 4

noun (1)

found·​er ˈfau̇n-dər 

: one that founds or establishes

the founder of a company

the founder of psychoanalysis

founder

2 of 4

verb

foun·​der ˈfau̇n-dər 

foundered; foundering ˈfau̇n-d(ə-)riŋ  ; founders

intransitive verb

1

of a horse : to become disabled

especially : to go lame

His horse foundered while he was still five miles from home.

2

: to give way : collapse

Every once in a while, perhaps as a consequence of small earthquakes or other tectonic movements … these muddy banks foundered and slid into the adjoining stagnant basin …

—Stephen Jay Gould

3

: to become submerged : sink

In the early hours of the 7th of December, a German liner named the Deutschland, sailing from Bremen to New York, foundered and broke up on the Kentish coast.

—Guy Davenport

4

: to encounter misfortune : fail

They were Hollywood's happiest couple right up to the moment the marriage foundered.

—John Gregory Dunne

transitive verb

: to disable (a domesticated animal, such as a horse or cow) especially as a result of excessive feeding or poor nutrition : to cause founder in

It can be caused by excess sugar in the horses' diet. … new spring grass is the most sugar-filled and, therefore, the most likely to founder a horse.

—Desirai Schild

founder

3 of 4

noun (2)

foun·​der ˈfau̇n-dər 

: inflammation of and damage to the laminae (see lamina sense 4) and coffin bone in the hoof of a domesticated animal (such as a horse or cow) that is typically caused by poor diet, obesity, or diseases associated with inflammation : laminitis

The laminae are what hold the bone to the hoof. When they become compromised and inflamed, they cause severe pain and lameness. If they start to separate from the bone, it will cause sinking of the bone within the hoof which is called founder …

—Lainie Kringen-Scholtz

founder

4 of 4

noun (3)

found·​er ˈfau̇n-dər 

: one that founds metal

especially : typefounder

Did you know?

Founder is related to Latin fundus, meaning "bottom" or "base." When something "founders," it usually hits the bottom in one sense or another. When a ship founders, it sinks to the bottom of the sea, for example, and if your endeavor is foundering, it isn't doing well and is therefore headed downward.

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• author
• begetter
• creator
• establisher
• father
• founding father
• generator
• inaugurator
• initiator
• instituter
• institutor
• originator
• sire

Verb

• bomb
• collapse
• crater
• fail
• flame out
• flop
• flunk
• fold
• miss
• strike out
• tank
• wash out

Examples of founder in a Sentence

Verb

Her career foundered, and she moved from job to job for several years.

trying to save a foundering career

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Timnit Gebru, founder Distributed AI Research Institute No matter what actually spurred the conflict at OpenAI, the way in which it was resolved, with Altman back at the helm and his dissenters out, has played into a narrative: Altman emerging as victor, flanked by loyalists and boosters. —Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 28 Nov. 2023

This is Najah Roberts, a founder of one of the few brick-and-mortar cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. —WIRED, 16 Nov. 2023

Meta board member Marc Andreessen, founder of the firm Andreessen Horowitz, has condemned AI CEOs who have tried to use regulatory barriers to block open-source competition. —Nitasha Tiku, Washington Post, 15 Nov. 2023

Spears, founder of the Climate Cabinet, a national climate organization dedicated to winning elections, saw this challenge as a new project. —Yessenia Funes, The Verge, 14 Nov. 2023

In January, a Georgia woman, 32 weeks pregnant, was shackled for hours while waiting for a medical appointment and during transport, according to Pamela Winn, founder of RestoreHER US.America, a group that works with people entangled in the criminal justice system. —Renuka Rayasam, CBS News, 14 Nov. 2023

The founder of the candy giant, Menlo Smith, also manufactured iconic candies such as Pixy Stix, Sprees and Nerds, according to St. Louis Public Radio. —Sydney Borchers, Fox News, 4 Nov. 2023

Connecting a founder with the leaders of their next funding round is a substantial contribution. —Ruhama Wolle, Glamour, 3 Nov. 2023

The Department of Justice accused the FTX founder of misappropriating about $8 billion in customer funds. —Alan Murray, Fortune, 3 Nov. 2023

Verb

But those talks have been foundering and in June a leading state banker, Andrei Kostin, who heads Russia’s second biggest bank, VTB, suggested that the government should take temporary control of Yandex’s assets. —Catherine Belton, Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2023

Multiple efforts by the United States and the UN to broker peace foundered. —Uri Kaufman, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2023

Past efforts have foundered for many reasons, including the regular outbursts of religious and political violence that have roiled the region. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2023

As the rest of the nation’s factory jobs have foundered, the dog-and-cat-food industry quietly built a near-two-decade winning streak, having added jobs every year since 2004. —Andrew Van Dam, Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2023

But then came the Psalms, and there my ambition foundered. —Jonathan Franzen, The New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2023

However, the new scheme all but foundered on its first run as the Ohio Supreme Court repeatedly deemed the congressional and legislative district maps, passed with only GOP backing, to be unlawful gerrymanders drawn for partisan advantage. —Jake Zuckerman, cleveland, 14 Aug. 2023

Because the Taliban refused to deal with Ghani’s regime, the Republic was largely left out of the negotiations, and later talks between the Taliban and Ghani’s representatives foundered, leaving the Taliban free to pursue a military victory. —Steve Coll, The New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2023

The owners initially planned to close only some of the stores, but that changed in late June, when a $45 million loan to keep the business afloat foundered. —Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Aug. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English foundour, borrowed from Anglo-French fundur, foundour, going back to Latin fundātor, from fundāre "to found entry 4" + -tor, agent suffix

Verb

Middle English fondrer "to fall to the ground, stumble, sink," borrowed from Anglo-French fundrer "to destroy," probably back-formation from enfondrer, esfondrer, affondrer "to sink, send to the bottom," prefixed forms based on Old French -fondrer, going back to Vulgar Latin *-fundorāre, verbal derivative of Late Latin fundor-, variant stem of Latin fundus "bottom, base" — more at bottom entry 1

Note: The simple verb fundrer (as opposed to prefixed forms) is marginally attested in Anglo-French, its senses partially merged with fondre going back to Latin fundere (see found entry 5), which in addition to its basic meanings "to pour, cast" had already in Classical Latin the extended meanings "to scatter, disperse, rout" and "to lay low, slay."

Noun (2)

derivative of founder entry 2

Noun (3)

Middle English foundour, borrowed from Anglo-French foundur, foundour, from fondre "to melt, cast, found entry 5" + -ur, -our -er entry 2

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun (2)

circa 1547, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing founder

• founder effect
• co-founder

• founder effect
• co-founder

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Kids Definition

founder

1 of 3 noun

found·​er ˈfau̇n-dər 

: one that founds or establishes

founder

2 of 3 verb

foun·​der ˈfau̇n-dər 

foundered; foundering -d(ə-)riŋ 

1

: to become lame

the horse foundered

2

: to sink below the surface of the water

a foundering ship

founder

3 of 3 noun

found·​er

: one that founds metal

Etymology

Verb

Middle English foundren "to fall to the ground, sink," from early French fondrer (same meaning), derived from Latin fundere "to pour, cast, disperse, lay low" — related to font entry 2, found entry 3

Medical Definition

founder

1 of 2 verb

foun·​der ˈfau̇n-dər 

foundered; foundering -d(ə-)riŋ  ; founders

intransitive verb

of a horse

: to become disabled

especially : to go lame

transitive verb

: to disable (a domesticated animal, such as a horse or cow), especially as a result of excessive feeding or poor nutrition : to cause laminitis in

founder

2 of 2 noun

foun·​der

: inflammation of and damage to the laminae (see lamina sense b) and coffin bone in the hoof of a domesticated animal (such as a horse or cow) that is typically caused by poor diet, obesity, or diseases associated with inflammation : laminitis

Legal Definition

founder

noun

found·​er

: one that founds or establishes: as

a

: one that establishes a foundation

b

: founding father