grandpa
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What does grandpa mean? Grandpa is an informal word for grandfather—the father of a person’s parent. When a father’s child has their own children, that father becomes a grandpa. The word pa is an informal way to say father. Grandpa is often combined with a name, especially when a person has two grandfathers that they call Grandpa, as in Grandpa Carl andGrandpa Frank. Should grandpa be capitalized?Grandpa should be capitalized when it’s used as a proper name, as in Please tell Grandpa that I miss him. But grandpa does not need to be capitalized when it’s simply used as a way to refer to him, as in Please tell my grandpa that I miss him. Example: It doesn’t matter what you call your grandpa, as long as you call him.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of grandpa
Explanation
Your grandpa is your grandfather; in other words, your grandpa is your mom or dad's dad. Grandpa is the most common name people use for their grandfather, but you might call yours "Gramps." While you may refer to him as your grandfather, you're more likely to call him grandpa. It's an informal, childish nickname, a shortened form of grandpappa, most popular in the 1700s, which spawned grandpappy and grandpop as well. When you are referring to your mom or dad's mother, you can replace the "p" with an "m" and use the word (yes, you guessed it!) 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.
My grandpa died earlier in the tournament - his last interaction with the boys was to post some England stickers picked up with his weekly shop.
From BBC • Jun. 21, 2026
"You were our little grandpa baby," Boudol wrote in a farewell post on Instagram.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
Her grandpa died two years ago, and her grandma now lives out of town.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026
“Your grandpa would be ashamed of your boys,” reads its website.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
It didn’t surprise me too much to find out that my grandpa knew something about the monkeys.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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.
