founder
part of speech
noun (founder, founders); verb (founder, founders, foundered, foundering)
meaning for a pupil
1) A person who starts a school, company, club, charity or city. tree →
2) (verb) Of a ship: to fill with water and sink. tree →
3) (verb) Of a plan: to fail or come to nothing. tree →
4) (verb) Of a horse: to go lame, or to stumble. tree →
sense in the lessons
In history it names the person who began something: «the founder of the school». In stories at sea, a ship that founders is sinking. In business news, plans founder when they fail. Phrases: founder of, co-founder, Founder's Day, founder on the rocks.
examples
- The founder of our school was a kind teacher. tree →
- Every year we celebrate Founder's Day. tree →
- She is the co-founder of a children's charity. tree →
- The little boat foundered in the storm. tree →
- Their plan foundered because nobody had enough money. tree →
- The founder of the club still comes to every meeting. tree →
- The Romans looked upon him as their special protector, and declared him to have been the father of Romulus and Remus, the founders of their city. tree →
note
Related: found (to start something), foundation. Do not confuse «founder» (sink, fail) with «flounder» (to struggle clumsily; also a flat fish). The noun is common; the verb is mostly in stories and the news.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «founder» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.