godfather
Syllables: god·fatherUK/ˈɡɒdfɑːðə//ˈɡɑdfɑðɚ/
godfather noun: a man present at the christening of a baby who promises to help raise the child in a Christian manner; a male godparent who sponsors the baptism of a child.
Noun
godfather (plural godfathers)
- A man present at the christening of a baby who promises to help raise the child in a Christian manner; a male godparent who sponsors the baptism of a child.
- Synonyms:
- godpa
- Someone who plays a key role in fostering the development of something.
- The man often touted as the godfather of AI has quit Google, citing concerns over the flood of misinformation, the possibility for AI to upend the job market, and the “existential risk” posed by the creation of a true digital intelligence.2023 May 2, Josh Taylor, Alex Hern, “‘Godfather of AI’ Geoffrey Hinton quits Google and warns over dangers of misinformation”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
- “They are trying to kill the messenger with the bad news, it’s crazy,” said Dr James Hansen, known as the godfather of climate science and previously director of Giss for more than 30 years.2025 May 21, Oliver Milman, “Godfather of climate science decries Trump plan to shut Nasa lab above Seinfeld diner: ‘It’s crazy’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
- A mafia leader.
- A small post which is used in repairing a fence. For instance attached to and supporting an existing broken fence post.
Verb
godfather (third-person singular simple present godfathers, present participle godfathering, simple past and past participle godfathered)
- To act as godfather or guardian to.
- Hull objected violently that aid had not been used to extract commitments on postwar economic policy; the joint chiefs had wanted bases; others in the military still wanted Britain to play only a minor, if any, role in the Pacific; and they were all apparently angry at the Treasury for godfathering...1996, Ann Lane, The Rise and Fall of the Grand Alliance, 1941–45, page 61
- But months before, he'd agreed to godfather the premiere of The Godfather.2006, Robert Evans, The Kid Stays in the Picture, page 5
godfather meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
godfather in Hindi
- गॉडफादर, गॉडफ़ादर
godfather in Tamil
- ஆதரவளிப்பவர், தொட்டப்பன், ஆதரவுத்தந்தை
godfather in Marathi
- गॉडफादर, गोडफादर
godfather in Urdu
- گاڈ فادر, گوڈ فادر
More languagesFewer languages
- godfather in Bengali
- ধর্মপিতা
- godfather in Telugu
- గాడ్ ఫాదర్, గాడ్ఫాదర్
- godfather in Malayalam
- തലതൊട്ടപ്പൻ
- godfather in Kannada
- ಧರ್ಮಪಿತ, ಧರ್ಮೀಯಪಿತೃ, ಹಿತಸಾಧಕ, ಹಿತಪೋಷಕ
- godfather in Punjabi
- ਗੌਡਫਾਦਰ, ਗੋਡਫਾਦਰ, ਗਡਫਾਦਰ
- godfather in Gujarati
- ગોડફાધર, ગોડફાદર, ગોડફધર
- godfather in Odia
- ଧର୍ମ ବାପା dharma bāpā
- godfather in Nepali
- गॉडफादर, गोडफादर, गोडफादार
- godfather in Tagalog
- inaama, ninong, padrino
- godfather in Arabic
- عَرَّاب ʕarrāb, إِشْبِين ʔišbīn
- godfather in Indonesian
- bapak baptis, ayah baptis
- godfather in Thai
- พ่อทูนหัว pɔ̂ɔ-tuun-hǔua, พ่ออุปถัมภ์ pɔ̂ɔ-ù-bpà-tǎm, เจ้าพ่อ jâao-pɔ̂ɔ
- godfather in Vietnamese
- cha đỡ đầu
Examples of godfather in a sentence
- […]recalls Henrik Stiesdal, sometimes known as the “godfather” of the wind industry for his influential turbine inventions […].2026 January 13, Rachel Millard, Alice Hancock, Nic Fildes, “How the west fell behind in green tech”, in Financial Times, Big Read, page 15:
- Hussein’s overthrow, to reconcile themselves to the assumption of power by the Shiite majority who won elections godfathered by the American occupation authority.2007 August 3, John F. Burns, “At Hussein Grave, Legend Lives as Fury Simmers”, in New York Times:
Synonyms of godfather
Forms of godfather
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | godfathers |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | godfathers |
| present participle | godfathering |
| past participle | godfathered |
| past | godfathered |
Origin of godfather
From Middle English godfader, from Old English godfæder (“godfather”), equivalent to god- + father. Cognate with Old Saxon godfadar (“godfather”), Middle Dutch godvader (“godfather”), Danish gudfader, gudfar (“godfather”), Swedish gudfader, gudfar (“godfather”), Icelandic guðfaðir (“godfather”).
Words formed from godfather
Questions about godfather
- What does godfather mean?
- Godfather means a man present at the christening of a baby who promises to help raise the child in a Christian manner; a male godparent who sponsors the baptism of a child.
- What is godfather in Hindi?
- Godfather in Hindi is गॉडफादर, गॉडफ़ादर. See Godfather meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use godfather in a sentence?
- […]recalls Henrik Stiesdal, sometimes known as the “godfather” of the wind industry for his influential turbine inventions […].
- What part of speech is godfather?
- Godfather can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce godfather?
- Godfather is pronounced /ˈɡɑdfɑðɚ/ (US).
- What is the plural of godfather?
- The plural of godfather is godfathers.
Words near godfather in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: godfather (page history and authors); godfather (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); godfather (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); godfather (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); godfather (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); godfather (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); godfather (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); godfather (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); godfather (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); godfather (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); godfather (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); godfather (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-godfather.ogg.
Cite this entry: “godfather.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/godfather. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.