grampa
Americannoun
Usage
What does grampa mean? Grampa is an informal word for grandfather—the father of a person’s parent. It’s a variant of the word grandpa, which is commonly pronounced like grampa. Grampa should be capitalized when it’s used as a proper name, as in Please tell Grampa that I miss him. But grampa does not need to be capitalized when it’s simply used as a way to refer to him, as in Please tell my grampa that I miss him. Example: It doesn’t matter what you call your grampa, as long as you call him.
Etymology
Origin of grampa
First recorded in 1850–55; alteration of grandpa ( def. )
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.
JF gave me a big hug and told me how my grampa fixed some broken toys for her kids.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 7, 2018
My gramma told me to go down the street and tell Jane Fonda that my grampa had died.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 7, 2018
Tero Big surprise that you showed up here, grampa.
From Time • Mar. 20, 2013
You being an "old man" or a "grampa" is a state of mind, not a statement on your chronological age, to which I am unaware.
From Time • Mar. 20, 2013
J.B. went on, “He’s not very jolly. My friend Freddy has a jolly grampa. And where’s our other grampa? Don’t we get two? Freddy has two, so how come we don’t have two?”
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
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.
