great-grandmother
Americannoun
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.
Etymology
Origin of great-grandmother
First recorded in 1520–30
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.
Upon being told that her great grandmother had died, she seemed to want clarity and asserted with partial relief, “Great Gran is dead . . . but not squished.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 16, 2025
Mrs Brooks was a mother, nanna, great grandmother and aunt who was born in Penarth and lived in Barry for more than 65 years.
From BBC • Nov. 7, 2024
The boys’ grandmother and great grandmother are also Franklin grads.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 7, 2024
Hooper restored an old family dollhouse built for her great grandmother around 1895, played with by five generations, including Elise and her two daughters.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 29, 2024
I couldn’t imagine dragging my last name with me from sunup to sundown, but JimmyTrotter and his great grandmother wouldn’t have it any other way.
From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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.
