gran
Americannoun
-
grans
plural
noun
Usage
What does gran mean? Gran is an informal word for grandmother—the mother of a person’s parent. The word granny is used in the same way. A similar word for a grandfather is gramps. Gran should be capitalized when it’s used as a proper name, as in Please tell Gran that I miss her. But gran does not need to be capitalized when it’s simply used as a way to refer to her, as in Please tell my gran that I miss her. Example: It doesn’t matter what you call your gran, as long as you call her.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gran
First recorded in 1860–65; by shortening
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.
See Examples For:
"With my gran turning 90 next month, my mum was granted access to drive her all the way to the summit, which is so, so special."
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
A Pot Noodle-loving gran enjoyed the snacks so much she had her favourite flavour put in her coffin when she died.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026
As he stands in the rain, Mr Colton adds ruefully: "My gran thinks I'm mad."
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2025
His gran, Betty Feeney, sparked the Glasgow actor's lifelong love of performance with her stories of seeing Frank Sinatra play in the city.
From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2025
After the pastor finally finished talking, the pallbearers lowered the wooden coffin with my gran in it into the huge rectangle in the ground.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
Call the Midwife often has that feel-good Sunday evening tone to it, drawing in mums and dads, along with grans and granddads.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2013
It took only a short time for Marian and her father to become great chums, and they had many good times together sharing many secrets which they did not tell the grans.
From Little Maid Marian by Amy Ella Blanchard
Fromont is in the wrong; all the trouble follows from his original misconduct, when he refused to stand by Garin in a war of defence against the Moors:— Iluec comence li grans borroflemens.
From Epic and Romance Essays on Medieval Literature by W. P. Ker
The love of Aucassin and Nicolete— “Des grans paines qu’il soufri,” that is the one thing serious to him in the whole matter, and that is not so very serious.
From Aucassin and Nicolete by Andrew Lang
Marian and Mrs. Hunt always spoke of Mr. and Mrs. Otway as the grans.
From Little Maid Marian by Amy Ella Blanchard
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.
