founding father

noun

1

: an originator of an institution or movement : founder

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

Synonyms

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

Examples of founding father in a Sentence

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

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Others, such as the Revolutionary War-era cameo of one of the country’s founding fathers, are little more than walking, talking punch lines. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 1 Nov. 2024

The Lee brothers are the sons of Lee Kuan Yew, modern Singapore’s founding father. —Sylvia Hui and Eileen Ng, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2024

Two founding fathers of machine learning – John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton – won the physics prize. —Daniel Niemann, Jill Lawless, and Mike Corder, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Oct. 2024

At the time of the referendum, the SNP was led by Alex Salmond, who died last week, and who was the founding father and driving force of the independence movement (and a subscriber to this note). —Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

founding father

noun

found·​ing father

ˈfau̇n-diŋ-

1

: one that starts or helps to start an institution or a movement

2

often capitalized : a leading figure in the founding of the U.S.

Legal Definition

founding father

noun

found·​ing fa·​ther

often capitalized both Fs

: a leading figure in the founding of the U.S.

specifically : a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1787