Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to be the godfather

to be the godfather

2 7.6
To accept responsibility for a child's religious life at their baptism
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : ser el padrino
  • Wait, does that mean I get to be the godfather?

Examples

  • The English lovebirds finally called it quits in 1998, but today, they remain close friends, and Grant is the godfather to Elizabeth's son, Damian.

    Blog text (14)

  • Can I be the godfather?

    Bad Boys for Life (2020)

  • I'll be the godfather to your kid.

    Blood Ties (2013)

  • Craig got to be the godfather.

    Blog text (15)

  • Taylor was the godfather to the eldest.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • He is the godfather.

    Blog text (33)

  • He still received invitations from them, he believed, because he performed small electrical and plumbing repairs whenever he visited and because he had offered to be the godfather if they ever had children.

    Academic text (2010)

  • I asked my brother if he would be the godfather of my upcoming child, and he agreed.

  • When the baby was born, we celebrated by asking Uncle Joe to be the godfather.

  • As part of the christening ceremony, he promised to be the godfather and help guide the child spiritually.

Antonyms

to abandon
773 3.1

Leave someone or something behind permanently and without care

to wash one's hands
  • Informal
3 6.3

Refuse to take the blame for a problem

Surface Forms

be the godfather infinitive
was the godfather past
been the godfather past participle
being the godfather present participle
is the godfather third person singular

Morphology

be + the + godfather

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'be' (to take on a role) plus the noun 'godfather' (a man who sponsors a child at baptism), with 'the' as a definite article—so a learner who knows the constituents can infer it means to assume that role. This construction is a straightforward noun-role predication common cross-linguistically, making it immediately comprehensible to B1 learners who know the word 'godfather'.

Etymology

Be the godfather comes from a Christian ceremony where an adult stands beside a baby and promises to be a god and father figure who will help the child's religious life. So it means 'to accept responsibility for a child's spiritual upbringing'.