grand
adjective
impressive in size, appearance, or general effect.
grand
1 American
[grand]
/ grænd /
adjective
-
grander,
comparative
-
grandest
superlative
-
impressive in size, appearance, or general effect.
grand mountain scenery.
- Antonyms:
- insignificant
-
stately, majestic, or dignified.
In front of an audience her manner is grand and regal.
- Antonyms:
- unassuming, modest
-
highly ambitious or idealistic.
grand ideas for bettering the political situation.
-
magnificent or splendid.
a grand palace.
-
noble or revered.
a grand old man.
-
highest, or very high, in rank or official dignity.
a grand potentate.
-
main or principal; chief.
the grand ballroom.
- Antonyms:
- minor
-
of great importance, distinction, or pretension.
a man used to entertaining grand personages.
-
complete or comprehensive.
a grand total.
- Synonyms:
- inclusive
-
pretending to grandeur, as a result of minor success, good fortune, etc.; conceited.
Jane is awfully grand since she got promoted.
-
first-rate; very good; splendid.
to have a grand time; to feel grand.
-
Music. written on a large scale or for a large ensemble.
a grand fugue.
noun
-
grands,
plural
-
grand
plural
-
Informal. an amount equal to a thousand dollars.
The cops found most of the loot, but they're still missing about five grand.
grand-
2
American
grand
1
British
/ ɡrænd /
adjective
-
large or impressive in size, extent, or consequence
grand mountain scenery
-
characterized by or attended with magnificence or display; sumptuous
a grand feast
-
of great distinction or pretension; dignified or haughty
-
designed to impress
he punctuated his story with grand gestures
-
very good; wonderful
-
comprehensive; complete
a grand total
-
worthy of respect; fine
a grand old man
-
large or impressive in conception or execution
grand ideas
-
most important; chief
the grand arena
noun
-
short for grand piano
-
slang a thousand pounds or dollars
grand-
2
British
prefix
Usage
What does grand- mean? Grand- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “one generation more remote." It is typically used in genealogical terms. Grand- comes from Latin grandis, meaning “great,” “large,” or "full-grown." The Greek translation of grandis is mégas, meaning “big” or “great.” Mégas is the source of the combining form mega-. To learn more, check out our entry on mega-. What are variants of grand-?While not a variant of grand- in this sense exactly, the prefix great- is used to indicate further generations remote, as in great-grandparent, or parent two generations removed.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of grand1
First recorded in 1350–1400; 1920–25 grand for def. 14; Middle English gra(u)nd, gra(u)nt, from Old French grant, grand, from Latin grandis “great, large, full-grown”
Origin of grand-2
Special use of grand
Explanation
Something that's grand is large and impressive. A fancy, catered birthday party with a guest list of hundreds could be described as grand. The adjective grand can be used in many different ways: it can describe big things, like a grand piano or the Grand Canyon, or luxurious things, like the grand leather seats in your dad's Cadillac. You can also use grand to simply mean "wonderful," as when you exclaim, "Chocolate cake for dessert! Isn't this grand!" Grand is also a slang term for "a thousand dollars." The Latin root is grandis, "big, great, full, or abundant."
Vocabulary lists containing grand
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A coyote is bathed in red light; a cougar stalks near a grand piano; a man stands in a tropical jungle surrounded by mist; a pay phone off the hook dangles by its cord.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
And in May, federal prosecutors dropped a massive indictment against the Broadview Six, a group of Chicago protesters, after grand jury transcripts revealed shocking misconduct.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026
"We hope that by having a grand jury return an indictment in this case it will bring us one step closer to a trial and achieving justice," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
With the city’s relationship with its main fundraising partner gone, an L.A County grand jury report suggested the city find a new private-public partnership to keep the zoo afloat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
The hotel was upgraded, doubling the number of rooms to five hundred and creating grand new facades and a new main entrance.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
She’s clearly positioned in the film as an intellectually rich matriarch—there are lovingly shot images of her with her grand- and great-grandchildren on the beach, and footage of her playing Bach.
From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2026
“A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father and a proud grand- and great-grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility and purpose,” the family wrote.
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2025
“A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand- and great-grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility and purpose,” his family wrote on Instagram.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2025
Immigrants’ American-born grand- and great-grandchildren are grasping backward through time and bureaucracy, hoping their ancestors might now provide them with a way to start over back in the motherland.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 29, 2022
The various members of the Pike family—parents, grand- parents, et al.—each thought someone else had bought Danny the new bicycle.
From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
Mercedes have delivered on the expectation they would be the team to beat with eight wins and 10 pole positions in the first 11 grands prix, and Russell dominated his rookie team-mate in 2025.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Although that event takes F1 to the 21 grands prix needed to satisfy various commercial contracts, Domenicali is determined for there to be another race after the Las Vegas Grand Prix on 21 November.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
It’s not to be confused with Apple TV’s sports offerings, such as MLS matches, Formula One grands prix, or Friday baseball.
From Slate ● Jun. 10, 2026
Meadows calls the domaine’s namesake wine an aggregator of the top qualities of all the grands crus, Burgundy’s top-tier vineyards, forming a mystical combination of aromatics and liquid silk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
I expected us to immediately move on to greater things, like arabesques, grands jetés, and pirouettes, but we couldn’t.
From "Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina" by Michaela DePrince
Vienna's heurigers range from a few tables set up in the open air to grander affairs resembling restaurants.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
What stood out most was and is their profound appreciation for a grander inspirational source: the world of Studio Ghibli, brought to life by Hayao Miyazaki.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
Monaco's royal Christmas card is much grander, with a big fire, oil painting, formal clothes, and a sense of regal order.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2025
Travel agency or not, Costco has grander travel ambitions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
With Richards a few feet away, happily fielding his invitation to the Santa Anita Turf Club Ball, the traditional party held to honor hundred- grander winners, Pollard was bombarded with harsh questions.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
It was the first time since Tom Watson in 1977 that a 72nd green birdie had secured golf's oldest and grandest title by a single shot.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Then again, even though “Goal” was shown only on video monitors, the Bowl with its new sound system worked brilliantly as the grandest cinema on the planet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
Then the theme music was adopted by the grandest global sporting event there is: the World Cup.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
But how he will cope on the grandest stage of all?
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
“I have tested Nathan and can say he has vast amounts of kindness as well as the grandest of courage. He has within him the dormant abilities of a talented medicine man.”
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
