father figure
"father-figure" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“father figure” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who represents, behaves as, or is regarded as equivalent to a father for another person or group of people.
Corpus desk
Index EN-father-figure · father figure · English
father figure · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 13 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "F" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | father figure |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “father figure” in English
Rare enough to double-check
father figure is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "One who represents, behaves as, or is regarded as equivalent to a father for another person or group of people.".
Zero misspellings are on record for father figure in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is father figure, spelled F-A-T-H-E-R- -F-I-G-U-R-E.
Definition
- 1One who represents, behaves as, or is regarded as equivalent to a father for another person or group of people.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how father figure appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Tudjman, the national father-figure, emerged as the improbable and unexpected victor of the wars of the Yugoslav succession of 1991-99.
Orphaned at a young age, he found a father figure in the confident and committed al-Bahri.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.