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• grant
  grant

  verb (used with object)

  to bestow or confer, especially by a formal act.
• Grant
  Grant

  noun

  Cary Archibald Leach, 1904–86, U.S. actor, born in England.

grant

¹ American  

[grant, grahnt] / grænt, grɑnt /

verb (used with object)

• grants,
  present (3rd person singular)
• granted,
  past participle,  past
• granting
  present participle

1. to bestow or confer, especially by a formal act.

   to grant a charter.

   Synonyms:

   vouchsafe, award

   Antonyms:

   receive

2. to give or accord.

   to grant permission.

   Antonyms:

   receive

3. to agree or accede to.

   to grant a request.

4. to admit or concede; accept for the sake of argument.

   I grant that point.

5. to transfer or convey, especially by deed or writing.

   to grant property.

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noun

1. something granted, as a privilege or right, a sum of money, or a tract of land.

   Several major foundations made large grants to fund the research project.

   Synonyms:

   bequest, concession

2. the act of granting.

   Synonyms:

   conveyance, bequest, concession

3. Law. a transfer of property.

4. a geographical unit in Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire, originally a grant of land to a person or group of people.

idioms

1. take for granted,

   1. to accept without question or objection; assume.

      Your loyalty to the cause is taken for granted.

   2. to use, accept, or treat in a careless or indifferent manner.

      A marriage can be headed for trouble if either spouse begins to take the other for granted.

Grant ² American  

[grant, grahnt] / grænt, grɑnt /

noun

1. Cary Archibald Leach, 1904–86, U.S. actor, born in England.

2. Heber Jedediah 1856–1945, U.S. president of the Mormon Church 1918–45.

3. Ulysses S(impson) 1822–85, 18th president of the U.S. 1869–77: Union general in the Civil War.

4. a male given name: from a Latin word meaning “large, great.”

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grant ¹ British  

/ ɡrɑːnt /

verb

1. to consent to perform or fulfil

   to grant a wish

2. (may take a clause as object) to permit as a favour, indulgence, etc

   to grant an interview

3. (may take a clause as object) to acknowledge the validity of; concede

   I grant what you say is true

4. to bestow, esp in a formal manner

5. to transfer (property) to another, esp by deed; convey

6. 1. to accept or assume without question

      one takes certain amenities for granted

   2. to fail to appreciate the value, merit, etc, of (a person)

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noun

1. a sum of money provided by a government, local authority, or public fund to finance educational study, overseas aid, building repairs, etc

2. a privilege, right, etc, that has been granted

3. the act of granting

4. a transfer of property by deed or other written instrument; conveyance

5. a territorial unit in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, originally granted to an individual or organization

Grant ² British  

/ ɡrɑːnt /

noun

1. Cary, real name Alexander Archibald Leach. 1904–86, US film actor, born in England. His many films include Bringing up Baby (1938), The Philadelphia Story (1940), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), and Mr Blandings Builds his Dream House (1948)

2. Duncan ( James Corrowr ). 1885–1978, British painter and designer

3. Ulysses S ( impson ), real name Hiram Ulysses Grant. 1822–85, 18th president of the US (1869–77); commander in chief of Union forces in the American Civil War (1864–65)

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Synonym Usage

See give.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• granter
  noun
• supergrant
  noun
• regrant
  verb (used with object)
• grantable
  adjective
• ungrantable
  adjective
• grantedly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• granting
  present
• granted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• grant
  simple
• grants
  simple
• have granted
  perfect
• has granted
  perfect
• am granting
  progressive
• are granting
  progressive
• is granting
  progressive
• have been granting
  perfect progressive
• has been granting
  perfect progressive

Past

• granted
  simple
• had granted
  perfect
• was granting
  progressive
• were granting
  progressive
• had been granting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will grant
  simple
• will have granted
  perfect
• will be granting
  progressive
• will have been granting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of grant

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English gra(u)nten, from Old French graunter, variant of crëanter, from Vulgar Latin credentāre (unrecorded), derivative of Latin crēdent-, stem of crēdēns “believing,” present participle of crēdere “to believe, entrust”; cf. credible ( def. )

Explanation

You can grant anything from a permanent restraining order to a request for time off, or, if you’re a genie, seven wishes. When you grant something you are letting someone have or do something that they are asking for. When you grant something, you’re typically fulfilling a request that is not an automatic entitlement. For example, if you order a plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce in a restaurant, when the meal arrives, you wouldn’t say that the chef has been kind enough to grant you the meal; it’s an order that’s been fulfilled. If you ask the chef to make it a vegan dish that doesn’t include chicken stock, however, then you’re making a request that it’s up to the chef to grant — or not.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grant Grant grants granted granting

A new mommy-and-me tennis class and childcare grant are making their dreams possible again.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

Disclosures: Chan served as a consultant for Pfizer Inc. and Boehringer Ingelheim and received grant support from Freenome Holdings outside the submitted work.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

Anthony and Peter have had interviews with the UN refugee agency, which could grant them refugee status, although Cameroon may still choose not to accept.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Denmark supports Greenland’s economy with an annual block grant of approximately $620 million, and finances its police, prisons and defense.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

“And wise and beautiful Draupadi, wife to the five brothers—what she wanted most of all was peace. I tried to grant her wish, but the closest I could muster was light.”

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi

Fresh from taking down world number one Nelly Korda in the early session, Europe sent out Swedish pair Maja Stark and Linn Grant against in-form Americans Megan Khang and Lauren Coughlin.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

Grant nominees undergo a rigorous national peer review process before being chosen.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026

Drew Findling, also on Banks’ defense team, accused Grant of being a “master of deception” who was determined to get revenge for the death of Bennett, his cousin.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

Adam Grant is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and author of the forthcoming “Vibe: The Secrets of Strong Connections in a Lonely World.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

Stanton wanted his commanding general, Ulysses S. Grant, back in Washington.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

Instead, athletes are awarded funding and grants by UK Sport, with the majority of the money coming from the National Lottery.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

I think about like some of the artists I work with that get government grants in Austria and Canada and the Netherlands.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

The report found that corporate foundation grants to veteran-related programs fell from about 1% of annual giving in 2014 to around 0.3% in 2023.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Belonging, I worked out early, is not something a room grants you.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

He just grants us a long enough life to punish ourselves.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Food and Drug Administration granted approval for the drug, based on the results of another trial, for advanced breast cancer upon the detection of a specific mutation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

“I definitely do feel it’s not something I take for granted to be in these rooms and to know that my voice matters,” Howe said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

If Royal Assent is granted, the Isle of Man expects the service to be operational next year.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Most venture-capital funds are 10-year limited partnerships, so investors expect their money back, plus profits, in that time frame, though extensions can be granted.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

They were about the same age as Jiller, and Rowan had taken them for granted as he grew up.

From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda

McKenna West filed an emergency appeal asking the court to halt a previous ruling granting parental rights to California couple Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Under a new model unveiled by Beijing late last month, developers will collect only a small initial deposit, granting buyers the right to walk away from a purchase if their homes aren’t delivered on time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Six years ago, county voters approved a measure granting the commission subpoena powers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

For those aged 13 to 18, they advised granting gradually more autonomous use of social media and other platforms that have "actively introduced key safety features".

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

Their attorney told us that out of all the requests from across the country, this was the only interview they were granting to anyone in the media.

From "Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago" by LeAlan Jones

Related Words

• allocation
• allotment
• appropriation
• assistance
• award
• charity
• concession
• contribution
• donation
• endowment
• fellowship
• handout
• reward
• scholarship
• stipend
• subsidy