founder

verb5

1. •
   To flood with water and sink.

   • We were not much more than a quarter of an hour out of our ship but we saw her sink, and then I understood for the first time what was meant by a ship foundering in the sea. — 1719
2. •
   To fail; to miscarry.

   • All his tricks founder. — 1613
3. •
   To fall; to stumble and go lame.
4. •
   To disable or lame (a horse) by causing internal inflammation and soreness in the feet or limbs.
5. •
   (no longer used) To cause to flood and sink, as a ship.

   • We found a strong Tide setting out of the Streights to the Northward, and like to founder our Ship. — 1697

noun5

1. •
   One who founds or establishes (a company, project, organisation, state, etc.).

   • The founder of Facebook is Mark Zuckerberg.
2. •
   A common ancestor of some population (especially one with a certain genetic mutation).

   • 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
3. •
   The iron worker in charge of the blast furnace and the smelting operation.

   • The term 'founder' was applied in the British iron industry long afterwards to the ironworker in charge of the blast furnace and the smelting operation. — 1957
4. •
   One who casts metals in various forms; a caster.

   • a founder of cannon, bells, hardware, or printing types
5. •
   A severe laminitis of a horse, caused by untreated internal inflammation in the hooves.

noun[in the plural]1

1. •
   (US) A Founding Father.

   • As the Founders saw it, the great driver of freedom was knowledge. — 2025