grandchild
Americannoun
-
grandchildren
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of grandchild
Explanation
If you have a grandparent, you are a grandchild. You are the grandchild of your mother’s and father’s parents. If you have a grandchild, your son or daughter had a baby. Congratulations. A person becomes a grandparent when their kid has their first baby, and that baby is the grandparent’s grandchild. Boys are often called "grandsons," and girls "granddaughters," but both are also grandchildren. Grandchild uses the family or genealogical sense of the prefix grand-, which first meant "a generation older than," and since Elizabethan times has also meant "a generation younger than."
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:
They could make separate gifts of the same size to the child’s spouse and to each grandchild.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
“My parents won’t be at my wedding, they won’t get to hold their future grandchild, and they won’t get to see me have the successful career I’m still seeking,” Jake wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
If one child or grandchild decides to go to college, the trust can provide for that.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
"I want to know how it happens that information about a grandmother or great-grandmother's environment can affect the phenotype of her grandchild or great-grandchild," she explains.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
“Look inside. Tell me, am I not right? In this mirror is my future grandchild, already sitting on my lap next spring. ”
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
On the face of it, your mother’s request is reasonable: set up a trust for her grandchildren so they can get support if/when they choose to attend university.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
Thomas said the possibility of having to leave her son, grandchildren, friends and husband's grave has become too much to bear.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Life here is largely supported by children and grandchildren who have moved abroad seeking work, often construction for the men and cleaning for the women, and can send a little money back home.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
He claims that people have thrown bottles at his fence as a result, causing him to fear for the safety of his two young grandchildren, who live with him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
I married and had children, and with work and God’s will I prospered, so that I am able today to enjoy my children, my grandchildren, my orchards and my gardens in peace and comfort.
From "My Brother Sam is Dead" by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
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.
