grandpa

[gran-pah, -paw, grand-, gram-, gram-puh]

noun

Informal.

1. grandfather.

grandpa

/ ˈɡrænd-, ˈɡræm-, ˈɡrænd-, ˈɡrænpəˌpɑː, ˈɡrænˌpɑː /

noun

1. informal words for grandfather

Word History and Origins

Origin of grandpa¹

First recorded in 1885–90; grand- + pa

Example Sentences

He was dressed in standard Mexican grandpa attire: long flannel shirt, blue hat, jeans and sneakers along with a salt-and-pepper mustache and a leather cellphone case hanging from his belt.

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Hairy-backed grandpas are yielding to upwardly mobile startup founders and creative types.

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Mike Kupper, husband, dad, grandpa and longtime sportswriter/editor, died September 17th of renal failure.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“I’m worried what my old man would do if I didn’t bring back grandpas rifle,” Robinson texted.

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Robinson: my dad wants photos of the rifle ... he says grandpa wants to know who has what, the feds released a photo of the rifle, and it is very unique.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• ancestor 
• patriarch 

When To Use

What does grandpa mean?

Grandpa is an informal word for grandfather—the father of a person’s parent.When a father’s child has their own children, that father becomes a grandpa. The word pa is an informal way to say father.Grandpa is often combined with a name, especially when a person has two grandfathers that they call Grandpa, as in Grandpa Carl andGrandpa Frank. Should grandpa be capitalized?Grandpa should be capitalized when it’s used as a proper name, as in Please tell Grandpa that I miss him. But grandpa does not need to be capitalized when it’s simply used as a way to refer to him, as in Please tell my grandpa that I miss him. Example: It doesn’t matter what you call your grandpa, as long as you call him.