grandmother
Americannoun
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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.
Etymology
Origin of grandmother
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; grand-, mother 1
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.
A grandmother who died from rabies four months after a stray dog scratched her in Morocco was only diagnosed after a psychiatrist assessed her, an inquest has heard.
From BBC
This year's televised Spring Festival Gala, a state broadcaster-run New Year ritual, featured a sketch that referenced AQ, and one starring humanoid robots caring for a neglected grandmother.
From Barron's
He was wondering what happened —why I lived with my grandmother instead of my parents.
From Literature
His grandmother, a resident of Imperial Valley with legal status, was crossing the border when agents asked her about her trips to casinos.
From Los Angeles Times
Admittedly, we are a generation attempting to age differently than our brittle-boned mothers and grandmothers.
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.
