great-grandmother
Americannoun
-
great-grandmothers
plural
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
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.
See Examples For:
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
Daniel’s tribe, the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, has pushed to rein in the cutting — spearheaded by his late great-grandmother, Priscilla Hunter.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026
Rita, now, clearly showed that her great-grandmother, a gifted mathematician, had decided to pass on her skills.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
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
The heavy work has all been done by countless great-grandmothers and their mates.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
