grandmother

[gran-muhth-er, grand-, gram-]

noun

1. the mother of one's father or mother.

2. a female ancestor.

grandmother

/ ˈɡrænd-, ˈɡrænˌmʌðə /

noun

1. the mother of one's father or mother

2. (often plural) a female ancestor

3. (often capital) a familiar term of address for an old woman

4. See egg 1

Word History and Origins

Origin of grandmother¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; grand-, mother ¹

Example Sentences

Ms. Ypi writes that she’s at the archives to “rescue” her grandmother “from the trolls.”

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They went out for boba tea and at a sleepover at their grandmother’s, she looked through family albums and held a pillow with his photo printed on it.

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She and her grandmother raced to a relative's house on higher terrain.

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Despite the discomfort, she dressed up and joined the family in the cruise casino, her grandmother said.

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Lee's brother-in-law said the children's other grandmother was sick with cancer and still did not know about the murders.

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Related Words

• ancestor 
• grandma 
• granny 
• matriarch 

When To Use

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.