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.
He added that he hoped his granny would recover enough to be able to come to his house on Christmas Day.
From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025
Her boss knows she travels a lot, often as the granny on call.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 21, 2025
Darius: We had to dress to impress and I wanted to bring the queens — my mother, my granny and my auntie — to see the queens.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2025
Jocelyn recalls him saying: "When I went past and saw you were in trouble, I thought, suppose they were my granny and grandpa?"
From BBC • Mar. 22, 2025
And that's why I found myself fumbling one simple granny knot.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
