grandma
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What does grandma mean? Grandma is an informal word for grandmother—the mother of a person’s parent.When a mother’s child has their own children, that mother becomes a grandma. The word ma is an informal way to say mother.Grandma is often combined with a name, especially when a person has two grandmothers that they call Grandma, as in Grandma Marg and Grandma Marie. Should grandma be capitalized?Grandma should be capitalized when it’s used as a proper name, as in Please tell Grandma that I miss her. But grandma does not need to be capitalized when it’s simply used as a way to refer to her, as in Please tell my grandma that I miss her. Example: It doesn’t matter what you call your grandma, as long as you call her.
Etymology
Origin of grandma
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.
It’s fantastic for some pizza with grandma and grandpa.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026
The only reason he spent more on a car was that my grandma really wanted one that actually worked.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 24, 2026
"My grandma is literally an activist," Gauff added.
From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026
They’re occasionally joined by the family’s matriarch, Kris, the hot grandma to end all hot grandmas, who recently got a face-lift so impressive that it became national news.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026
She was taking care of the twins’ grandma who lived about fifty miles from Cedar.
From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis
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.
