granddad
Americannoun
Usage
What does granddad mean? Granddad 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 granddad. Granddad should be capitalized when it’s used as a proper name, as in Please tell Granddad that I miss him. But granddad does not need to be capitalized when it’s simply used as a way to refer to him, as in Please tell my granddad that I miss him. Example: It doesn’t matter what you call your granddad, as long as you call him.
Etymology
Origin of granddad
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.
Both his granddad and his dad Joe were lifelong Newcastle supporters.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
“My dad doesn’t understand it at all, but my granddad who’s not here anymore, he would have understood,” Bubb said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
“The way we are farming has gone back to how my granddad would have done it,” Bubb said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
The rain pours down so often that you can’t help but snort when the film cuts to Whitford’s granddad angrily watering his lawn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026
“And my dad’s mother before him and granddad before that.”
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
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.
