grandmother
Americannoun
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grandmothers
plural
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the mother of one's father or mother.
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a female ancestor.
noun
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the mother of one's father or mother
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(often plural) a female ancestor
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(often capital) a familiar term of address for an old woman
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See egg 1
Usage
What does grandmother mean? A grandmother is the mother of a person’s parent. When a mother’s child has their own children, that mother becomes a grandmother. Less commonly, grandmother can be used in a general way to refer to a female ancestor, as in This would not be possible without the contributions of those who came before us, our many grandmothers. Should grandmother be capitalized?Grandmother should be capitalized when it’s used as a proper name, as in Please tell Grandmother that I miss her. But grandmother does not need to be capitalized when it’s simply used as a way to refer to her, as in Please tell my grandmother that I miss her. Example: It doesn’t matter what you call your grandmother, as long as you call her.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of grandmother
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at grand-, mother 1
Explanation
Your grandmother is your mom or dad's mother. In many traditional cultures, a grandmother lives with her adult child's family and helps raise her grandchildren. Everyone has two biological grandmothers, maternal (your mother's mother) and paternal (your father's mother). If you're lucky, your grandmother is someone you get to know well. One of the most well-known fictional grandmothers appears in "Little Red Riding Hood," the fairy tale in which a wolf disguises himself as Red Riding Hood's grandmother in an attempt to fool her into being eaten.
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:
His mother, along with his grandmother, have largely brought him up.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Harry's grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, stripped them of their "Royal Highness" titles, police protection and public funding when they quit as working monarchy members in 2020.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Amina Hearns has been living with her mother and grandmother in West Covina, Calif., since she graduated from college in 2023, and she helps pay a portion of rent, groceries and utilities.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Winfrey later clarified that Harry said neither his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II or his grandfather Prince Philip “were a part of those conversations.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Please tell me how I can reach your grandmother.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Salterelli has seen cases where competing grandmothers both want to be guardians and a custody battle ensues.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Pregnant Then Screwed surveyed, external more than 1,300 parents and found 80% of those using informal childcare relied on grandmothers.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Both grandmothers also saw and sometimes participated in significant cultural changes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
“Some folks are saying ‘I like the idea of going after criminals, but I don’t like the school raids and targeting grandmothers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
Anya could trace mothers and grandmothers back all the way to Hadassah in Persia.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
