fathers

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of father.

   The two fathers organized a weekend camping trip for their families.

   Several fathers volunteered to coach the youth soccer team.

   Note

   A regular plural that carries every sense of the noun. Fathers can be parents, ancestors more remote than parents, priests addressed with respect, or men who play a father's part, and context decides which. In a speech about a people, "our fathers" can mean forebears rather than dads. The same spelling also serves as the verb form: the fathers versus he fathers. An article or a subject in front shows which one you are reading.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of father.

   The champion stallion fathers dozens of foals across the region each year.

   Whenever a crisis arises, the senator fathers another committee to study it.

   Note

   Unlike the noun it sits beside, this form always takes an object: a stallion fathers foals, a senator fathers a committee. Beyond siring, the verb stretches to nurturing, adopting and, figuratively, giving rise to something. What follows it therefore decides the meaning, whether that is a child, a scheme or a movement. It pairs with a singular subject. With plural subjects, and with I and you, the form is plain father.

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