grand
adjective
impressive in size, appearance, or general effect.
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grand
1 American
[grand]
/ grænd /
adjective
-
grander,
comparative
-
grandest
superlative
-
impressive in size, appearance, or general effect.
grand mountain scenery.
- Antonyms:
- insignificant
-
stately, majestic, or dignified.
In front of an audience her manner is grand and regal.
- Antonyms:
- unassuming, modest
-
highly ambitious or idealistic.
grand ideas for bettering the political situation.
-
magnificent or splendid.
a grand palace.
-
noble or revered.
a grand old man.
-
highest, or very high, in rank or official dignity.
a grand potentate.
-
main or principal; chief.
the grand ballroom.
- Antonyms:
- minor
-
of great importance, distinction, or pretension.
a man used to entertaining grand personages.
-
complete or comprehensive.
a grand total.
- Synonyms:
- inclusive
-
pretending to grandeur, as a result of minor success, good fortune, etc.; conceited.
Jane is awfully grand since she got promoted.
-
first-rate; very good; splendid.
to have a grand time; to feel grand.
-
Music. written on a large scale or for a large ensemble.
a grand fugue.
noun
-
grands,
plural
-
grand
plural
-
Informal. an amount equal to a thousand dollars.
The cops found most of the loot, but they're still missing about five grand.
grand-
2
American
grand
1
British
/ ɡrænd /
adjective
-
large or impressive in size, extent, or consequence
grand mountain scenery
-
characterized by or attended with magnificence or display; sumptuous
a grand feast
-
of great distinction or pretension; dignified or haughty
-
designed to impress
he punctuated his story with grand gestures
-
very good; wonderful
-
comprehensive; complete
a grand total
-
worthy of respect; fine
a grand old man
-
large or impressive in conception or execution
grand ideas
-
most important; chief
the grand arena
noun
-
short for grand piano
-
slang a thousand pounds or dollars
grand-
2
British
prefix
Usage
What does grand- mean? Grand- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “one generation more remote." It is typically used in genealogical terms. Grand- comes from Latin grandis, meaning “great,” “large,” or "full-grown." The Greek translation of grandis is mégas, meaning “big” or “great.” Mégas is the source of the combining form mega-. To learn more, check out our entry on mega-. What are variants of grand-?While not a variant of grand- in this sense exactly, the prefix great- is used to indicate further generations remote, as in great-grandparent, or parent two generations removed.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of grand1
First recorded in 1350–1400; 1920–25 grand for def. 14; Middle English gra(u)nd, gra(u)nt, from Old French grant, grand, from Latin grandis “great, large, full-grown”
Origin of grand-2
Special use of grand
Explanation
Something that's grand is large and impressive. A fancy, catered birthday party with a guest list of hundreds could be described as grand. The adjective grand can be used in many different ways: it can describe big things, like a grand piano or the Grand Canyon, or luxurious things, like the grand leather seats in your dad's Cadillac. You can also use grand to simply mean "wonderful," as when you exclaim, "Chocolate cake for dessert! Isn't this grand!" Grand is also a slang term for "a thousand dollars." The Latin root is grandis, "big, great, full, or abundant."
Vocabulary lists containing grand
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:
Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Robert McGuire secured a grand jury indictment against Abrego Garcia for human smuggling charges related to a 2022 traffic stop.
From Slate ● Aug. 23, 2026
"My first choice was Manchester and then my second was Liverpool, so I knew I could commute," she says, adding that the price of accommodation would have been "a few grand a year".
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
His grand goal was to reduce flooding, ease navigation and expand commercial shipping capacity by straightening the river’s course and shortening the distance between Basel and Bonn by 50 miles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The contractors, according to the grand jury, exploited this agreement to the hilt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
An abundance of knitted sweaters and scarves began to appear on the household staff, which gave a cozy feeling to the grand house.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
“A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father and a proud grand- and great-grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility and purpose,” the family wrote.
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2025
“A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand- and great-grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility and purpose,” his family wrote on Instagram.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2025
That would be three generations away, so assuming William or George live as long as their grand- and great-grandmother, we’ll have to wait quite a while.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2022
Immigrants’ American-born grand- and great-grandchildren are grasping backward through time and bureaucracy, hoping their ancestors might now provide them with a way to start over back in the motherland.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 29, 2022
At noon one of old Grandma’s grand- nieces brought Ku’oosh two lard pails.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
Hamilton out-qualified Leclerc only seven times last year across all qualifying sessions, over 24 grands prix and six sprints.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
The Briton won two grands prix, while Antonelli's best result was a single podium finish in third place in the Canadian Grand Prix.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
The 19-year-old Italian has a 66-point lead over Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton after winning five of the first six grands prix this year.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
It’s not to be confused with Apple TV’s sports offerings, such as MLS matches, Formula One grands prix, or Friday baseball.
From Slate ● Jun. 10, 2026
“Sorry about that. I’ve got my grands for the summer.”
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
What stood out most was and is their profound appreciation for a grander inspirational source: the world of Studio Ghibli, brought to life by Hayao Miyazaki.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
The presidents were chosen by the sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who initially had grander plans for the memorial.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
He "made my world so much brighter, grander and more delightful than I could have ever understood it to be", she wrote on Instagram.
From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026
Dhurandhar, arriving months after the worst India-Pakistan military clash in two decades, sees Dhar return to the political-thriller genre on a grander scale.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2025
Lightly hitched to society, he imagined himself bound to grander forces.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
It was the first time since Tom Watson in 1977 that a 72nd green birdie had secured golf's oldest and grandest title by a single shot.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
As Stuart scholar Ellen Miles has written, the Lansdowne Portrait, as it is known, is “Stuart’s grandest American accomplishment,” a beautiful picture that “was quickly recognized as the best pictorial summation of Washington’s public role.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Spielberg turned one of science fiction’s grandest ideas — first contact with alien life — into the story of a boy and his weird little space-faring goblin best friend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
But how he will cope on the grandest stage of all?
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
The hall was the grandest space she had ever been in—higher roofed than any church, wider than most fields, filled with hundreds of diners at scores of long tables.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
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.
