father

I UK [ˈfɑːðə(r)] / US [ˈfɑðər] noun
Word forms "father":
singular father plural fathers
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1) [countable] your male parent. People often call their father Dad or, especially if they are young children, Daddy. In the past, people often called their father Father or Papa

My father taught me to drive.

George suspected that he was not the father of Emily's child.

The thought of becoming a father terrified Mark.

someone's real/natural father:

I never knew my real father.

a father of two/three/four etc:

The 32-year-old father of three denies the charges.

be like a father to someone:

Tom has been like a father to me.

2) Father used for talking to or about a priest, especially a Roman Catholic priest

I need your help, Father.

Father Peter said that that wasn't a sin.

3) Father used for talking to or about God in the Christian religion

Heavenly/Almighty Father:

Heavenly Father, please hear our prayers.

4) fathers

[plural] people in your family who lived long before you

Spanish was the language of their fathers.

•

- the father of something

- from father to son

- like father, like son

II UK [ˈfɑːðə(r)] / US [ˈfɑðər] verb [transitive]
Word forms "father":
present tense I/you/we/they father he/she/it fathers present participle fathering past tense fathered past participle fathered

if a man fathers a child, he makes a woman pregnant and becomes a father