grandee
Americannoun
noun
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a Spanish or Portuguese prince or nobleman of the highest rank
-
a man of great rank or eminence
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of grandee
1590–1600; < Spanish, Portuguese grande, with ending assimilated to -ee
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.
Starmer has apologized for hiring the Labour Party grandee, and Mandelson has quit the House of Lords—the British Parliament’s upper chamber—amid a police investigation into whether he shared market-sensitive information with the financier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026
An even more welcome addition to our already bulging shelves is the belated arrival of a largely complete studio discography of Britain’s greatest conductor, and certainly its most self-possessed: the musical grandee Sir Thomas Beecham.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
One grandee tells me: "We need to regain our senses and remember we were totally thrashed last summer and have not yet been forgiven. More shenanigans won't help."
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2025
Then we’ll hear from City grandee Allan Leighton, who became chairman of Royal Mail in 2002.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2024
He dressed impeccably and had the manners of a grandee.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
