grandee
Americannoun
noun
-
a Spanish or Portuguese prince or nobleman of the highest rank
-
a man of great rank or eminence
Other Word Forms
- grandeeship noun
Etymology
Origin of grandee
1590–1600; < Spanish, Portuguese grande, with ending assimilated to -ee
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.
An even more welcome addition to our already bulging shelves is the belated arrival of a largely complete studio discography of Britain’s greatest conductor, and certainly its most self-possessed: the musical grandee Sir Thomas Beecham.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025
Then we’ll hear from City grandee Allan Leighton, who became chairman of Royal Mail in 2002.
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2024
Their company logo — Picasso’s stylized silhouette of Cervantes’ delusional Spanish grandee — seemed to pop up every few blocks, all over town.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 20, 2024
Mr Campbell said he believed the inquiries into his affairs related to a story involving the finances of Labour grandee Peter Mandelson, published on Christmas Eve in 1998.
From BBC • May 23, 2023
He dressed impeccably and had the manners of a grandee.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
