godfather
Americannoun
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a man who serves as sponsor for a child at baptism.
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any male sponsor or guardian.
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(often initial capital letter) a powerful leader, especially of the Mafia.
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a person who is regarded as the originator or principal shaper of a movement, school of thought, art form, industry, or the like.
the godfather of abstract expressionism.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a male godparent
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the head of a Mafia family or other organized criminal ring
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an originator or leading exponent
the godfather of South African pop
Other Word Forms
- godfatherly adjective
Etymology
Origin of godfather
before 1000; Middle English godfader, Old English godfæder; god, father
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Epstein declined, saying he had promised his goddaughter he "would not be godfather to anyone else".
From BBC
In Districts 3 and 4, they ran younger members of the family, better educated and with less of a godfather image than the older generation.
From BBC
When I asked him if his reputation as the godfather of Corsica was true, he replied: "Yes, I'm the godfather, but only to my grandchildren."
From BBC
Netflix, as the godfather of movie streaming, has historically bypassed theatrical runs and sent only some of its original films to theaters for brief periods.
Those who chose the dimly lit path happened upon their version of an A-list celebrity: the man known as the godfather of AI.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
