granny
Americannoun
-
Informal. a grandmother.
-
an elderly woman.
-
a fussy person.
-
Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. a nurse or midwife.
adjective
-
of, relating to, or thought to be like a grandmother or an elderly or old-fashioned woman.
granny notions about what's proper.
-
(of clothing for women or girls) being loose-fitted and having such features as high necklines, puff sleeves, long skirts, and ruffles and lace trimmings.
a granny blouse; a granny nightgown.
noun
-
informal words for grandmother
-
informal an irritatingly fussy person
-
a revolving cap on a chimneypot that keeps out rain, etc
-
a midwife or nurse
-
See granny knot
Etymology
Origin of granny
1655–65; grand(mother) + -y 2, with -nd- > -nn-
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.
Her look evolves from a worn-out cog to a biker-like granny who’d seem natural riding on the back of Dennis Hopper’s hog.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
"And now of course I'm a granny myself, so maybe that's what spurred me on."
From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026
Kids are chatting or walking—solo, in pairs or trios—and a mother or granny holds a girl’s hand, probably waiting for an older sibling to come out of school.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025
Barry retired from the NBA in 1980 as the all-time leader in free-throw shooting percentage, having exclusively used under-arm "granny throws", yet nobody has copied his technique.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2025
“Also, last night you said your granny was gone.”
From "Louisiana's Way Home" by Kate DiCamillo
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.
