grandmother
Americannoun
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grandmothers
plural
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the mother of one's father or mother.
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a female ancestor.
noun
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the mother of one's father or mother
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(often plural) a female ancestor
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(often capital) a familiar term of address for an old woman
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See egg 1
Usage
What does grandmother mean? A grandmother is the mother of a person’s parent. When a mother’s child has their own children, that mother becomes a grandmother. Less commonly, grandmother can be used in a general way to refer to a female ancestor, as in This would not be possible without the contributions of those who came before us, our many grandmothers. Should grandmother be capitalized?Grandmother should be capitalized when it’s used as a proper name, as in Please tell Grandmother that I miss her. But grandmother does not need to be capitalized when it’s simply used as a way to refer to her, as in Please tell my grandmother that I miss her. Example: It doesn’t matter what you call your grandmother, as long as you call her.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of grandmother
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at grand-, mother 1
Explanation
Your grandmother is your mom or dad's mother. In many traditional cultures, a grandmother lives with her adult child's family and helps raise her grandchildren. Everyone has two biological grandmothers, maternal (your mother's mother) and paternal (your father's mother). If you're lucky, your grandmother is someone you get to know well. One of the most well-known fictional grandmothers appears in "Little Red Riding Hood," the fairy tale in which a wolf disguises himself as Red Riding Hood's grandmother in an attempt to fool her into being eaten.
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:
She loves being a mother and grandmother, but said she "needed time for me".
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
“It’s the only job I’ve ever had that has sustained my family,” said Nemahunguni, whose mining income also supports her brother, sister and grandmother.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
"I think people... want foods that are whole foods, the way we used to do them, the foods that their grandmother or great-grandmother made," Childers said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
Related: ‘There is considerable tension’: My grandmother, 99, wants to cut my mother out of her will.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
“Yes, I am interested in education and I would like to know something about methods in the other world. Spelling, for example. How does my grandmother now spell the word ‘scissors’?”
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Salterelli has seen cases where competing grandmothers both want to be guardians and a custody battle ensues.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
What began as a chance encounter on a flight to Las Vegas could soon be heading to the big screen, as a group of grandmothers and a pro-wrestler discuss a film based on their story.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The author is a law school professor, researcher and author of an upcoming book on the scientifically proven neural superpowers of grandmothers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
I’m not trying to turn anybody into grandmothers, but the upside is not there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
“Some. Along with mothers and grandmothers, widows and maids ... would you condemn them all to die, my lord?”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
