granny
Americannoun
plural
grannies-
Informal. a grandmother.
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an elderly woman.
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a fussy person.
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Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. a nurse or midwife.
adjective
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of, relating to, or thought to be like a grandmother or an elderly or old-fashioned woman.
granny notions about what's proper.
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(of clothing for women or girls) being loose-fitted and having such features as high necklines, puff sleeves, long skirts, and ruffles and lace trimmings.
a granny blouse; a granny nightgown.
noun
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informal words for grandmother
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informal an irritatingly fussy person
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a revolving cap on a chimneypot that keeps out rain, etc
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a midwife or nurse
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See granny knot
Etymology
Origin of granny
1655–65; grand(mother) + -y 2, with -nd- > -nn-
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.
While the home is private, it is also walkable to Granny White Market and Radnor Lake.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026
Before him was a tangle of circuit boards the size of a cutting board—big enough to slice a few Granny Smiths.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
“She is already so adored and I’m incredibly blessed to be a Granny once again. So proud of Edo, Beatrice and the rest of my little 5-a-side team!”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2025
The character, married to Granny Pig and the father of Mummy Pig and Aunt Dottie, was referred to as "Papa Ig" by his young grandson George.
From BBC • Sep. 20, 2024
She looked as old as Granny herself, with sunken cheeks and loose gray flesh.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
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.
