Founder Meaning
/ˈfaʊ̯n.dəː/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounOne who founds or establishes (a company, project, organisation, state, etc.).
nounA common ancestor of some population (especially one with a certain genetic mutation).
Sentence Examples
The hall was built in memory of the founder.
In the center of the university campus stands the statue of the founder.
The founder and president of the company
CEFR Practice Quiz
The company's ____ started the business in a small garage.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He is well-known as the ____ of a successful company that revolutionized the way people communicate.
Word Origin & History
From Old French fondeur, from Latin fundātor, equivalent to found + -er.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"As to eleemoſynary corporations, by the dotation the founder and his heirs are of common right the legal viſitors, to ſee that that property is rightly employed, which would otherwiſe have deſcended to the viſitor himſelf: […]"
— 1765, William Blackstone, “Of Corporations”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book I (Of the Rights of Persons), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 469:
"Young people love to idolize their predecessors. [Steve] Jobs was Silicon Valley's idol of choice for decades, but to the next generation of startup founders, his legacy feels about as old as Web 1.0."
— 2022 January 13, Arielle Pardes, “Who Do Young Entrepreneurs Look Up To? Elon Musk”, in Wired, San Francisco, Calif.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 01 Jun 2023:
"Chris Printup, a founder of the streetwear brand Born X Raised, which became a fixture on the Los Angeles fashion scene, died on Wednesday morning at a hospital in Albuquerque. He was 42."
— 2023 June 28, Livia Albeck-Ripka, “Chris Printup, Founder of Streetwear Brand Born X Raised, Dies at 42”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 06 Jul 2023:
"The sickle cell mutation today can be found in five different haplotypes, leading to the conclusion that the mutation appeared independently five times in five different founders."
— 2006 June 1, Dennis Drayna, “Founder Mutations”, in Scientific American, New York, N.Y.: Springer Nature America, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Jun 2023:
"Among the Ashkenazi Jews in the positive group, 81 percent had one of the three founder mutations, suggesting that 23andMe's test could be helpful for them."
— 2019 April 16, Heather Murphy, “Don't Count on 23andMe to Detect Most Breast Cancer Risks, Study Warns”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Oct 2022:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The company's ____ started the business in a small garage.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He is well-known as the ____ of a successful company that revolutionized the way people communicate.