grandmother
Americannoun
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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:
But the family, particularly his grandmother, was struggling with his loss.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
A French grandmother hops aboard to teach passengers how to make apple-packed tarte Tatin and madeleines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
Adams started in the 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic in Group A despite learning that his grandmother had passed away only hours before kick-off.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
He was introduced to the practice of enemas with coffee by someone he describes as a Brazilian grandmother or elder.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Israel’s mom was there, in her tall blue van, and Jenny Pearson’s grandmother was there, in her little green bug.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
That legacy helps explain why in a male-dominated sport, men direct their hopes upward and outward—to mothers, wives, grandmothers and the Virgin herself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
But when I went down for Gamble’s trial, I found instead a place where the Southern grandmothers were rising to the occasion.
From Slate ● May 4, 2026
She acknowledged that it was still "not enough" and promised a "special plan for our grandfathers and grandmothers."
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
"We are steadfast in our commitment to stand with survivors of gender-based and conflict-related violence, and carrying on the legacy of the grandmothers," the group wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
“Good. Just don’t ever tell your grandmothers, mom, or deadly aunties that it’s better than theirs.”
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
