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founder3

Syllabification: (found·er)
Pronunciation: /ˈfoundər/

Translate founder | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of founder

verb

[no object]
  • (of a ship) fill with water and sink:six drowned when the yacht foundered off the Florida coast
  • (of a plan or undertaking) fail or break down, typically as a result of a particular problem or setback:the talks foundered on the issue of reform
  • (of a hoofed animal, especially a horse or pony) succumb to laminitis.

noun

  • laminitis in horses, ponies, or other hoofed animals.

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'knock to the ground'): from Old French fondrer, esfondrer 'submerge, collapse', based on Latin fundus 'bottom, base'

It is easy to confuse the words founder and flounder, not only because they sound similar but also because the contexts in which they are used overlap. Founder means, in its general and extended use, ‘fail or come to nothing, sink out of sight’ (the scheme foundered because of lack of organizational backing). Flounder, on the other hand, means ‘struggle, move clumsily, be in a state of confusion’ (new recruits floundering about in their first week).

founder in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of founder in the British & World English dictionary