father

/ˈfɑː.ðə(ɹ)/

//ˈfɑː.ðə(ɹ)// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"father" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“father” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #549 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#549
frequency rank, English
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A male parent, especially of a human; a male who parents a child (which he has sired, adopted, fostered, taken as his own, etc.).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

father vs fisher
67% similar
father vs fathom
67% similar
father vs fatter
83% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for father
PropertyValue
Headwordfather
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɑː.ðə(ɹ)/
Letters6
Frequency rank#549
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “father” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). father lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for father is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfɑː.ðə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #549 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for father, with forms such as "afther", "fahter", and "fatehr". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fisher", "fathom", "fatter", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-? Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr Proto-Germanic *fadēr Proto-West Germanic *fader Old English fæder Middle English fader English father Inherited from Middle English fader. Doublet of ayr, faed… The correct English form is father, spelled F-A-T-H-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A male parent, especially of a human; a male who parents a child (which he has sired, adopted, fostered, taken as his own, etc.).
  2. 2
    A male who has sired a baby; this person in relation to his child or children.
  3. 3
    A male ancestor more remote than a parent; a progenitor; especially, a first ancestor.
  4. 4
    A term of respectful address for an elderly man.
  5. 5
    A term of respectful address for a priest.
  6. 6
    A person who plays the role of a father in some way.
  7. 7
    A pioneering figure in a particular field.
  8. 8
    Something that is the greatest or most significant of its kind.
  9. 9
    Something inanimate that begets.
  10. 10
    A member of a church council.
  11. 11
    The archived older version of a file that immediately precedes the current version, and was itself derived from the grandfather.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-? Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr Proto-Germanic *fadēr Proto-West Germanic *fader Old English fæder Middle English fader English father Inherited from Middle English fader. Doublet of ayr, faeder, athair, padre, pater, and père.

Synonyms

mother and granddaddyayrbababadadaddadadaddiodaddyfatherFatherfatherlingold manpapappapapapa bearpapawpappawpappyPappypaterpatriarchpawpawpawpeepawpepawpoppoppapoppypopssire

Antonyms

mothersondaughterchild

This word in other languages

padre(Español)père(Français)Vater(Deutsch)pai(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: afther,fahter,fatehr,fatherr,fathher,fathre,fatther,ffather,ftaher

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of father - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

afther2fahter2fatehr2fatherr1fathher1fathre2fatther1ffather1
Edit distance from "father"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "father"?
"father" is spelled F-A-T-H-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɑː.ðə(ɹ)/.
What does "father" mean?
As a noun, "father" means: A male parent, especially of a human; a male who parents a child (which he has sired, adopted, fostered, taken as his own, etc.).
What words are commonly confused with "father"?
"father" is commonly confused with "fisher", "fathom", "fatter". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "father"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "father" is /ˈfɑː.ðə(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "father"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-? Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr Proto-Germanic *fadēr Proto-West Germanic *fader Old English fæder Middle English fader English father Inherited from Middle English fader. Doublet of... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “father”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is F-A-T-H-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈfɑː.ðə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “fisher” - see the side-by-side comparison. father vs fisher
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list