grandparent
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What does grandparent mean? A grandparent is the parent of a person’s parent. When a parent’s child has children, that parent becomes a grandparent. Grandmothers and grandfathers are grandparents. A parent of a grandparent is called a great-grandparent. In your family tree, you have four grandparents and eight great-grandparents. Most people refer to their grandparents with titles like grandma and grandpa. Example: It doesn’t matter what you call your grandparents, as long as you call them.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of grandparent
Explanation
A grandparent is your parent's parent. Your dad's mother is your grandparent, and so is your mom's father. If you're lucky enough to have living grandparents, then that's pretty grand. Most people have a special name for each of their grandparents, whether it's "Grandma," "Grandpa Bob," or "Nana." Others never have the chance to meet their grandparents, but everyone has them. The word grandparent, first used at the start of the nineteenth century, uses grand in its sense of "a generation older than." Your grandparents are a generation older than your parents.
Vocabulary lists containing grandparent
It's All in the Family
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September Words
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Unit 10
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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.
The Conservatives are also promising 30 hours of childcare or the option to nominate a grandparent for a Grandparent Childcare Payment.
From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026
Grandparent childcare for toddlers doesn't have an impact on the wellbeing of their mothers, a new study suggests.
From Science Daily • Sep. 28, 2023
Grandparent: I appreciate your honesty and lucid self-appraisal.
From Washington Post • Feb. 22, 2023
Grandparent caregivers are 60% more likely to live in poverty than are grandparents not raising grandchildren, according to the U.S.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 10, 2022
She scratched at a logo T-shirt weighed down over her right shoulder with a beaded pin that read Sandy June’s Legendary Grandparent.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
