founder

founder 2[foun-der] SynonymsExamplesWord Origin verb (used without object)

1. (of a ship, boat, etc.) to fill with water and sink.
2. to fall or sink down, as buildings, ground, etc.: Built on a former lake bed, the building has foundered nearly ten feet.
3. to become wrecked; fail utterly: The project foundered because public support was lacking.
4. to stumble, break down, or go lame, as a horse: His mount foundered on the rocky path.
5. to become ill from overeating.
6. Veterinary Pathology. (of a horse) to suffer from laminitis.

verb (used with object)

7. to cause to fill with water and sink: Rough seas had foundered the ship in mid-ocean.
8. Veterinary Pathology. to cause (a horse) to break down, go lame, or suffer from laminitis.

noun

9. Veterinary Pathology. laminitis.

Origin of founder 2 1300–50; Middle English foundren Middle French fondrer to plunge to the bottom, submerge Vulgar Latin *fundorāre, derivative of *fundor-, taken as stem of Latin fundus bottomRelated formsun·foun·dered, adjectiveun·foun·der·ing, adjectiveSynonyms for founder 3. collapse, perish, succumb, topple, sink; flop. Related Words for foundering designer, patron, benefactor, creator, builder, author, planner, architect, organizer, inventor, abort, stumble, originator, beginner, generator, constructor, maker, initiator, framer, sprawl Examples from the Web for foundering Contemporary Examples of foundering

Deshchytsia suggests the daylong Geneva talks came close to foundering.

Ukraine Foreign Minister Speaks of Mistrust—and a Truce

Jamie Dettmer

April 19, 2014

Right at the epicenter of big time pop, music is foundering as a wealth enterprise.

The Music Industry Is Dying? Great

James Poulos

December 26, 2013

Obama’s lawyers are foundering in explaining the legal rationale for his Libyan adventure.

The Lawless Presidency

Bruce Ackerman

June 29, 2011

The foundering Kraft buyout of Cadbury is the latest example of how corporate boards are costing us trillions.

How Boards Are Destroying Corporations

David Zweig, John Gillespie

January 13, 2010

The GOP was foundering so badly, pundits talked in terms of “decades” of Democratic dominance.

The GOP’s Blacklist

Mark McKinnon

November 24, 2009

Historical Examples of foundering

They ought to have left before, when we had that narrow squeak from foundering.

Youth

Joseph Conrad

Written three days before the foundering of the Monitor off Hatteras, Dec. 31st 1862.

Shoulder-Straps

Henry Morford

And isn’t Hodgson foundering my mare at this moment in chase of him?

The Adventures of Harry Revel

Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

Had it fallen out, no human power could have prevented the ship from foundering.

Captain Cook

W.H.G. Kingston

If ye hang to the gunwale, is it my fault an ye be drowned in my foundering if I founder?’

Privy Seal

Ford Madox Ford

British Dictionary definitions for foundering founder 1 noun

1. a person who establishes an institution, company, society, etc

Word Origin for founder C14: see found ² founder 2 verb (intr)

1. (of a ship) to sink
2. to break down or failthe project foundered
3. to sink into or become stuck in soft ground
4. to fall in or give way; collapse
5. (of a horse) to stumble or go lame
6. archaic (of animals, esp livestock) to become ill from overeating

noun

7. vet science another name for laminitis

Word Origin for founder C13: from Old French fondrer to submerge, from Latin fundus bottom; see found ²usage Founder is sometimes wrongly used where flounder is meant: this unexpected turn of events left him floundering (not foundering) founder 3 noun

1. 1. a person who makes metal castings
   2. (in combination)an iron founder

Word Origin for founder C15: see found ³ Word Origin and History for foundering founder v.

early 14c., from Old French fondrer “collapse; submerge, sink, fall to the bottom,” from fond “bottom,” from Latin fundus “bottom, foundation” (see fund (n.)). Related: Foundered; foundering.

founder n.1

“one who establishes, one who sets up or institutes something,” mid-14c., from Anglo-French fundur, Old French fondeor, from Latin fundator, agent noun from fundare (see found (v.1)).

founder n.2

“one who casts metal,” c.1400, agent noun from found (v.2).

foundering in Medicine founder [foun′dər] v.

1. To stumble, especially to stumble and go lame. Used of horses.
2. To become ill from overeating. Used of livestock.
3. To be afflicted with laminitis. Used of horses.

n.

1. laminitis