grandparent

American  

[gran-pair-uhnt, -par-, grand-] / ˈgrænˌpɛər ənt, -ˌpær-, ˈgrænd- /

noun

1. a parent of a parent.

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grandparent British  

/ ˈɡrænˌpɛərənt, ˈɡrænd- /

noun

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

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Usage

What does grandparent mean? A grandparent is the parent of a person’s parent.When a parent’s child has children, that parent becomes a grandparent. Grandmothers and grandfathers are grandparents.A parent of a grandparent is called a great-grandparent. In your family tree, you have four grandparents and eight great-grandparents.Most people refer to their grandparents with titles like grandma and grandpa.Example: It doesn’t matter what you call your grandparents, as long as you call them.

Other Word Forms

• grandparental adjective
• grandparenting noun

Etymology

Origin of grandparent

First recorded in 1820–30; grand- + parent

Example Sentences

Grynspan recounted that her parents, who were from Poland, "barely survived" World War II. Her maternal grandparents were killed in the Holocaust.

From Barron's

Another factor to consider is that my family tends to be long-lived — I still have a grandparent living independently at age 102.

From MarketWatch

Born in Oklahoma on “a little cotton-picking town between Tulsa and Muskogee,” Releford was raised on a farm by his parents, grandparents and uncle.

From Los Angeles Times

Their request to Birmingham Children's Trust for respite was refused with the trust suggesting training grandparents to help, even though the family had told them that was not possible.

From BBC

The spirit rapped the exact number of dead grandparents, parents, and children.

From Literature