Meaning & use
stepfather
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
The man who is married to your mother but is not your biological father.
Grammar: Countable noun: use 'a stepfather' or 'my stepfather'.
Patterns
- someone's stepfather
- a stepfather to someone
After my parents divorced, my mother remarried, and my stepfather moved in with us.
He treats me like his own child, even though he's my stepfather.
My stepfather and I get along well.
nouncountable
The husband of one's father, in a same-sex relationship, who is not one's biological father.
Grammar: Used when the parent is male; the female equivalent is 'stepmother'.
Patterns
- someone's stepfather
- a stepfather to someone
My father and his husband have been together for ten years; I call his husband my stepfather.
Her stepfather came to the school play.
Word forms
| plural | stepfathers |
|---|
Common combinations
- stepfather figure
- He became a stepfather figure to the children.
- stepfather's side
- I have relatives on my stepfather's side.
- adoptive stepfather
- Her adoptive stepfather legally became her parent.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stepdad
- Informal and affectionate, used especially by children; 'stepfather' is neutral and more formal.
Opposites
Word family
- stepmother noun
- The woman married to your father but not your biological mother.
- stepson noun
- The son of your spouse from a previous relationship.
- stepdaughter noun
- The daughter of your spouse from a previous relationship.
- stepchild noun
- A child of your spouse from a previous relationship.
- step- prefix
- Used to show a family relationship created by a parent's remarriage.
Commonly confused: stepfather or foster father? stepfather or adoptive father?
stepfather vs foster father
A foster father cares for a child temporarily but has no legal or biological tie; a stepfather is married to the child's parent.
stepfather vs adoptive father
An adoptive father has legally become the child's parent; a stepfather may or may not adopt the child.
Practice
My mother got remarried last year, so now I have a ______.
Choose one answer.
A stepfather is the man your mother marries after divorce or separation. 'Foster father' is temporary care, 'adoptive father' is a legal adoption, and 'biological father' is your birth father.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stepfather”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.