FOUNDER (founder)
Dictionary entry overview: What does founder mean?
• FOUNDER (noun)
The noun FOUNDER has 3 senses:
1. inflammation of the laminated tissue that attaches the hoof to the foot of a horse
2. a person who founds or establishes some institution
3. a worker who makes metal castings
Familiarity information: FOUNDER used as a noun is uncommon.
• FOUNDER (verb)
The verb FOUNDER has 4 senses:
1. fail utterly; collapse
2. sink below the surface
3. break down, literally or metaphorically
4. stumble and nearly fall
Familiarity information: FOUNDER used as a verb is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
• FOUNDER (noun)
Meaning:
Inflammation of the laminated tissue that attaches the hoof to the foot of a horse
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Synonyms:
laminitis; founder
Hypernyms ("founder" is a kind of...):
inflammation; redness; rubor (a response of body tissues to injury or irritation; characterized by pain and swelling and redness and heat)
Meaning:
A person who founds or establishes some institution
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Synonyms:
beginner; founder; founding father; father
Context example:
George Washington is the father of his country
Hypernyms ("founder" is a kind of...):
conceiver; mastermind; originator (someone who creates new things)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "founder"):
cofounder (one of a group of founders)
coloniser; colonizer (someone who helps to found a colony)
foundress (a woman founder)
Meaning:
A worker who makes metal castings
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("founder" is a kind of...):
skilled worker; skilled workman; trained worker (a worker who has acquired special skills)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "founder"):
bell founder (a person who casts metal bells)
• FOUNDER (verb)
Meaning:
Fail utterly; collapse
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Synonyms:
fall flat; fall through; founder; flop
Context example:
The project foundered
Hypernyms (to "founder" is one way to...):
fail; go wrong; miscarry (be unsuccessful)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Sentence example:
The business is going to founder
Meaning:
Sink below the surface
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "founder" is one way to...):
go down; go under; settle; sink (go under,)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Meaning:
Break down, literally or metaphorically
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Synonyms:
fall in; collapse; cave in; give way; founder; give; break
Context examples:
The wall collapsed / The business collapsed / The dam broke / The roof collapsed / The wall gave in / The roof finally gave under the weight of the ice
Hypernyms (to "founder" is one way to...):
change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "founder"):
go off; implode (burst inward)
buckle; crumple (fold or collapse)
flop (fall loosely)
break (curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves)
sink; slide down; slump (fall or sink heavily)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Meaning:
Stumble and nearly fall
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Context example:
the horses foundered
Hypernyms (to "founder" is one way to...):
stumble; trip (miss a step and fall or nearly fall)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
