great-grandmother

American  

[greyt-gran-muhth-er, -grand-, -gram-] / ˌgreɪtˈgrænˌmʌð ər, -ˈgrænd-, -ˈgræm- /

noun

• great-grandmothers
  plural

1. a grandmother of one's father or mother.

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Usage

What does great-grandmother mean? A great-grandmother is the mother of a person’s grandparent (the grandmother of a person’s parent). When a mother’s child has their own children, that mother becomes a grandmother. When those children have their own children, she becomes a great-grandmother. Should great-grandmother be capitalized?Great-grandmother should be capitalized when it’s used as a proper name, as in Please tell Great-grandmother that I miss her. But great-grandmother does not need to be capitalized when it’s simply used as a way to refer to her, as in Please tell my great-grandmother that I miss her. Example: My kids were lucky enough to get to know three of their great-grandmothers.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• great-grandmothers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of great-grandmother

First recorded in 1520–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

great-grandmother great-grandmothers

That light is what my great-grandmother recognized in Dolly all those years ago.

From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026

"It's not just about what's in your genome as an individual," Gribble said, because "your health potentially depends on the health and environment of your mom and grandmother and great-grandmother."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026

"Don't be idle: if you can, move," Fava, who recently became a great-grandmother, said in a message to fellow seniors.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

In Philadelphia—where kids are down 6%—Nija Rivera, 39, grew up working class in a row house with her siblings, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

July 5, 1906, was a year after my great-grandmother on the Tweedy side died for the second and last time out in Banks County.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

For these survivors—the grandmothers and great-grandmothers who populate many romantic fantasies—“Italy” seldom meant idyllic country vistas and cardiologists’ dream culinary joys.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

McDonald’s performance opens a window onto the grandmothers and great-grandmothers whose lives were even more tragically curtailed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2025

And in 1917, her heavily pregnant great-grandmothers “swelled with orange heat, like the fruiting of giant persimmons.”

From Washington Post ● Apr. 27, 2023

My career has been fostered not only by my relatives — my aunts, my mother, my grandmothers and my great-grandmothers — but also by other women who’re weavers in the Navajo Nation.

From New York Times ● Apr. 20, 2023

Maybe for once our great-grandmothers would stop acting like Vonetta and Fern and behave like sisters.

From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia