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• grant
  grant

  verb (used with object)

  to bestow or confer, especially by a formal act.
• Grant
  Grant

  noun

  Cary Archibald Leach, 1904–86, U.S. actor, born in England.

grant

¹ American  

[grant, grahnt] / grænt, grɑnt /

verb (used with object)

• grants,
  present (3rd person singular)
• granted,
  past participle,  past
• granting
  present participle

1. to bestow or confer, especially by a formal act.

   to grant a charter.

   Synonyms:

   vouchsafe, award

   Antonyms:

   receive

2. to give or accord.

   to grant permission.

   Antonyms:

   receive

3. to agree or accede to.

   to grant a request.

4. to admit or concede; accept for the sake of argument.

   I grant that point.

5. to transfer or convey, especially by deed or writing.

   to grant property.

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noun

1. something granted, as a privilege or right, a sum of money, or a tract of land.

   Several major foundations made large grants to fund the research project.

   Synonyms:

   bequest, concession

2. the act of granting.

   Synonyms:

   conveyance, bequest, concession

3. Law. a transfer of property.

4. a geographical unit in Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire, originally a grant of land to a person or group of people.

idioms

1. take for granted,

   1. to accept without question or objection; assume.

      Your loyalty to the cause is taken for granted.

   2. to use, accept, or treat in a careless or indifferent manner.

      A marriage can be headed for trouble if either spouse begins to take the other for granted.

Grant ² American  

[grant, grahnt] / grænt, grɑnt /

noun

1. Cary Archibald Leach, 1904–86, U.S. actor, born in England.

2. Heber Jedediah 1856–1945, U.S. president of the Mormon Church 1918–45.

3. Ulysses S(impson) 1822–85, 18th president of the U.S. 1869–77: Union general in the Civil War.

4. a male given name: from a Latin word meaning “large, great.”

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grant ¹ British  

/ ɡrɑːnt /

verb

1. to consent to perform or fulfil

   to grant a wish

2. (may take a clause as object) to permit as a favour, indulgence, etc

   to grant an interview

3. (may take a clause as object) to acknowledge the validity of; concede

   I grant what you say is true

4. to bestow, esp in a formal manner

5. to transfer (property) to another, esp by deed; convey

6. 1. to accept or assume without question

      one takes certain amenities for granted

   2. to fail to appreciate the value, merit, etc, of (a person)

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noun

1. a sum of money provided by a government, local authority, or public fund to finance educational study, overseas aid, building repairs, etc

2. a privilege, right, etc, that has been granted

3. the act of granting

4. a transfer of property by deed or other written instrument; conveyance

5. a territorial unit in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, originally granted to an individual or organization

Grant ² British  

/ ɡrɑːnt /

noun

1. Cary, real name Alexander Archibald Leach. 1904–86, US film actor, born in England. His many films include Bringing up Baby (1938), The Philadelphia Story (1940), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), and Mr Blandings Builds his Dream House (1948)

2. Duncan ( James Corrowr ). 1885–1978, British painter and designer

3. Ulysses S ( impson ), real name Hiram Ulysses Grant. 1822–85, 18th president of the US (1869–77); commander in chief of Union forces in the American Civil War (1864–65)

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Synonym Usage

See give.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• granter
  noun
• supergrant
  noun
• regrant
  verb (used with object)
• grantable
  adjective
• ungrantable
  adjective
• grantedly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• granting
  present
• granted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• grant
  simple
• grants
  simple
• have granted
  perfect
• has granted
  perfect
• am granting
  progressive
• are granting
  progressive
• is granting
  progressive
• have been granting
  perfect progressive
• has been granting
  perfect progressive

Past

• granted
  simple
• had granted
  perfect
• was granting
  progressive
• were granting
  progressive
• had been granting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will grant
  simple
• will have granted
  perfect
• will be granting
  progressive
• will have been granting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of grant

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English gra(u)nten, from Old French graunter, variant of crëanter, from Vulgar Latin credentāre (unrecorded), derivative of Latin crēdent-, stem of crēdēns “believing,” present participle of crēdere “to believe, entrust”; cf. credible ( def. )

Explanation

You can grant anything from a permanent restraining order to a request for time off, or, if you’re a genie, seven wishes. When you grant something you are letting someone have or do something that they are asking for. When you grant something, you’re typically fulfilling a request that is not an automatic entitlement. For example, if you order a plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce in a restaurant, when the meal arrives, you wouldn’t say that the chef has been kind enough to grant you the meal; it’s an order that’s been fulfilled. If you ask the chef to make it a vegan dish that doesn’t include chicken stock, however, then you’re making a request that it’s up to the chef to grant — or not.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grant Grant grants granted granting

It said the grant from Jersey Community Foundation covered the charge to the government of Jersey's health and community services, which supply and facilitate the preparation of the meals.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

“Should we just forgo the bike lanes and do a straight repave? The answer was no, we wanna use the grant money for the bike lanes.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

The Washington Sun earlier reported the minority health grant cancellations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Adler chose to forgo college and become a Thiel Fellow, a grant program funded by the billionaire investor that encourages young people to build startups.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

The money, in the form of a five-year grant, would be funneled through Harvard Medical School.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Fellow big screen charmer Richard E. Grant, 69, who starred in films such as Withnail and I, may also leave some of the less well-known celebrities star-struck at first, as might American-British supermodel/actress Jerry Hall.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

This research was also funded by the North Dakota Space Grant Consortium.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026

Crenshaw will be boosted by the debut of quarterback Ethan Grant, a transfer from Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

She spent more than 20 years in public accounting, including audit partner roles at RSM US and Grant Thornton.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Like when Emily Grant and her friends sent me friend requests out of nowhere just so they could post mean things on my page.

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

Open Philanthropy gave Constellation two grants worth roughly $20 million in 2024, according to its website.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

The settlement would commit the agency to funding the grants through their remaining terms, including eligible extensions, as long as recipients meet their grant requirements.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

The study was supported by grants from the U.S.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

The deal reaffirms the sovereignty of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, but grants the US broad access to the island's airspace and territory.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

He applied for extensions on grants, often took months to answer letters, and at one point continued to pay a dead employee’s salary for three months before anyone noticed.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

Speaking at the Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton on Monday, the EU's new ambassador to the UK was asked whether the UK could rejoin the EU or be granted associate membership.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

In the United States, the FDA has granted "breakthrough device status" to a number of devices used in this area since 2021.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

Under the deal, Amazon is granted a call option on K+N’s existing shares tied to commercial milestones or services.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

In 2019, she violated probation a third time and was granted conditional revocable release, meaning if she got in trouble again she could face jail time, according to court records.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

He takes for granted a central issue that was resolved only by the discovery of the phases: that planets shine by reflected light.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong said in an order granting a preliminary injunction that the government “is regularly abstaining from conducting a likelihood of escape analysis at all” when making arrests without a warrant.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

McKenna West filed an emergency appeal asking the court to halt a previous ruling granting parental rights to California couple Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

In June, the European Parliament approved tougher migration rules granting authorities much broader detention powers, and allowing for the creation of "return hubs".

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

In late July, the City Council unanimously passed the legislation granting the $10,000 payments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

"I must speak with you, Your Grace," she said, granting him a king's style for once, anything to make him heed her.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

Related Words

• allocation
• allotment
• appropriation
• assistance
• award
• charity
• concession
• contribution
• donation
• endowment
• fellowship
• handout
• reward
• scholarship
• stipend
• subsidy