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

"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

She then explored eligibility through her great-grandmother, only to find that the rule changes bar that.

From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026

Over the course of the show, Dowden learned Louisa, her paternal great-grandmother, died in 1921, aged 39, from breast cancer - which she herself was diagnosed with in 2023.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 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

Both of her great-grandmothers were painters; her father, Brian Simpson, is a smooth jazz pianist; and her mother, Beverley Simpson, is a collage artist.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2025

“Tribute is paid to all grandmothers, great-grandmothers, mothers and traditional healers who in times past could cure everything from a broken heart to clinical illnesses with the help of herbs, flowers, bark, etc.”

From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2024

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

From Washington Post ● Apr. 27, 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