granny
Americannoun
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Informal. a grandmother.
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an elderly woman.
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a fussy person.
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Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. a nurse or midwife.
adjective
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of, relating to, or thought to be like a grandmother or an elderly or old-fashioned woman.
granny notions about what's proper.
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(of clothing for women or girls) being loose-fitted and having such features as high necklines, puff sleeves, long skirts, and ruffles and lace trimmings.
a granny blouse; a granny nightgown.
noun
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informal words for grandmother
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informal an irritatingly fussy person
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a revolving cap on a chimneypot that keeps out rain, etc
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a midwife or nurse
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See granny knot
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of granny
1655–65; grand(mother) + -y 2, with -nd- > -nn-
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.
While the home is private, it is also walkable to Granny White Market and Radnor Lake.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026
Before him was a tangle of circuit boards the size of a cutting board—big enough to slice a few Granny Smiths.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
“She is already so adored and I’m incredibly blessed to be a Granny once again. So proud of Edo, Beatrice and the rest of my little 5-a-side team!”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2025
Ms Kaumba hopes that the Granny Series will highlight that older people still have a lot to offer - and making memories together is an important way to "leave footprints for the next generation".
From BBC • Nov. 15, 2024
That day, I mourned mostly for Granny, who had lost more than any of us, but also for Grandpa, for Mama, and for myself.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
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.
