grandee
Americannoun
noun
-
a Spanish or Portuguese prince or nobleman of the highest rank
-
a man of great rank or eminence
Other Word Forms
- grandeeship noun
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.
Even before the revelations about the extent of Labour grandee Peter Mandelson’s ties to Epstein raised questions about Starmer’s judgment, investors were primed for a challenge to his leadership.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
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
Later, in Mexican California, another grandee family, the Sepulvedas, became masters of the land, now renamed Rancho Palos Verdes.
From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2024
The key, says one Labour grandee, is to ensure policy development is being turbo-charged in private.
From BBC • Oct. 7, 2023
Its high, somewhat stiff collar against my neck, the wide cuffs touching my wrists, the rich material against my skin excited a sense of strangeness and distinction; I felt like some nobleman, some Spanish grandee.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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.
