How to use godfather in a sentence

16 example sentences · noun, verb

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. Example: ““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.”

Examples of godfather by meaning

nounSomeone who plays a key role in fostering the development of something.

“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...

verbTo act as godfather or guardian to.

But months before, he'd agreed to godfather the premiere of The Godfather.2006, Robert Evans, The Kid Stays in the Picture, page 5
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

More sentences with godfather

A padrino or godfather and a madrina or godmother for the child are chosen by the parents.1969, Benicio T. Catapusan, Flora E. Diaz-Catapusan, Philippine Problems. From the entry padrino system
Ines described her first godfather as so controlling that he didn't permit his godchildren to talk with each other.2016, C. Lynn Carr, A Year in White: Cultural Newcomers to Lukumi and Santería in the United States, Rutgers University Press, →ISBN. From the entry godsibling
His godfather, part of yet another family, helps him maintain an e-circle of friends who make up his garage band.2010, J. A. English-Lueck, Being and Well-Being: Health and the Working Bodies of Silicon Valley. From the entry e-circle
Koutsoftas’s koumbaros, a combined best man and godfather to Mr.2009 March 14, Anne Barnard, “Furniture Chain’s Boast: Made in America. In Queens, in Fact.”, in New York Times. From the entry koumbaros
The Mafia godfather Rocco . . . makes Jack an offer he can't refuse: marry Carol or else.1991 September 22, Edward Rothstein, “Film: Hard Up for a Plot? Get With the Program”, in New York Times, retrieved 29 Jul 2012. From the entry offer one can't refuse
Jennie Darlington was expecting a baby - perhaps they would stand godfather to the very first real Antarctician.1982, Vivian Fuchs, Of Ice and Men, page 91. From the entry Antarctician
Sellers, Jr., acting as godfather and Mrs.1951 April 8, “Reunion of Hamiter And Ellis Families Is Held in Waskom”, in The Shreveport Times, volume LXXVII, number 312, Shreveport…. From the entry god-grandmother
He has created Barnaby, an amiable little boy who wishes for a fairy godmother and gets a fairy godfather—Mr.1943 October 31, Isabelle Mallet, “Godfather With Wings; BARNABY. By Crockett Johnson. […]”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The…. From the entry fairy godfather
When a man stood sponsor for a child at baptism, he became the child's godfather, and gossip to the parents.1908, Patrick Weston Joyce, A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland: Treating of the Government, Military System, and Law; Religion…. From the entry gossip
These second tier businesses too might prefer the luxury of rentier satisficing, but lacking “godfathers,” are compelled to behave more or less like neoclassical profit-seekers.2011, Steven Rosefielde, Masaaki Kuboniwa, Satoshi Mizobata, Two Asias: The Emerging Postcrisis Divide, page 432. From the entry market communism
What it means is that Daddy, smiling the while and playing fairy godfather to absolutely everybody, has made his money as a war profiteer.1976 September 5, Walter Kerr, “Stage View”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived…. From the entry fairy godfather
Godfather II is nothing like ready.1974, New York Magazine, volume 7, number 45, page 98. From the entry score
While still in this relationship, Greene, a convert to Roman Catholicism at 23, was asked to be godfather to Catherine Walston, a 30-year-old married woman, at her own conversion.2004, Ted Jones, chapter 3, in The French Riviera: A Literary Guide for Travellers, Tauris Parke Paperbacks, published 2007, →ISBN, page 64. From the entry convert

Meaning of 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 Someone who plays a key role in fostering the development of something.
noun A mafia leader.

Full definition of godfather

Questions about godfather in a sentence

How do you use godfather in a sentence?: Godfather is used as a noun and verb. For example: ““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.”
What is a short sentence with godfather?: “Godfather II is nothing like ready.”
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.

Adapted from Wiktionary: godfather (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use godfather in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/godfather. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.