Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

founding father

noun

Definition of founding father

  1. 1 :  an originator of an institution or movement :  founder

  2. 2 often capitalized both Fs :  a leading figure in the founding of the U.S.; specifically :  a member of the American Constitutional Convention of 1787

See founding father defined for English-language learners

See founding father defined for kids

Read the Latest from M-W

image1458426927
Good Words for Strong Flavors
alt-599492594f435
How 'Wonderful' Lost Its Sense of Wonder
time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Examples of founding father in a Sentence

  1. a tribute to Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and the other Founding Fathers

  2. Theodor Herzl is often credited as the founding father of modern Zionism.

First Known Use of founding father

1886

founding father Synonyms

Synonyms
author, begetter, creator, establisher, founder, father, generator, inaugurator, initiator, instituter (or institutor), originator, sire
Related Words
cocreator, cofounder; conceiver, contriver, designer, deviser, formulator, innovator, introducer, inventor, spawner; builder, maker, producer; developer, pioneer, researcher, researchist; organizer, promoter; encourager, galvanizer, inspiration, inspirer
Near Antonyms
disciple, follower, pupil, student, supporter

FOUNDING FATHER Defined for English Language Learners

founding father

noun

Definition of founding father for English Language Learners

  • : a person who helps to create or establish something : a person who founds something

  • : a man who had an important part in creating the government of the U.S.; specifically : a member of the American Constitutional Convention of 1787

Law Dictionary

founding father

noun , often cap both Fs found·ing fa·ther

Legal Definition of founding father

  1. :  a leading figure in the founding of the U.S.; specifically :  a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1787

Learn More about founding father

  1. See words that rhyme with founding father Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for founding father

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up founding father? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

perfunctory

play

done merely as a duty

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. repugnant Trump clarifies his position on racism

  2. white nationalist, white supremacist Trending in 2017

  3. bereft "Lacking something needed, wanted, or expected"

  4. impanel "To choose people to serve on a jury"

  5. cosmopolitan "Worldly"

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

founding father

Test Your Vocabulary

Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

  • time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
  • Which came first?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-599492594f435
How 'Wonderful' Lost Its Sense of Wonder

A case of semantic bleaching

dog-covering-face
Don't Let Reading This Be Another 'Coulda' 'Shoulda' 'Woulda'

PSA: They're three separate words.

image1458426927
Food Words for Strong Flavors

A tasting menu of vivid flavor descriptions

alt-5993066a3afad
What's the Plural of 'Maitre d''?

Use this word to confuse a French speaker.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz
name-more-food
Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game
Examples: founding father in a Sentence