grandma

Grandma is an informal word for grandmother—the mother of a person’s parent.

When a mother’s child has their own children, that mother becomes a grandma. The word ma is an informal way to say mother.

Grandma is often combined with a name, especially when a person has two grandmothers that they call Grandma, as in Grandma Marg and Grandma Marie. 

Should grandma be capitalized?

Grandma should be capitalized when it’s used as a proper name, as in Please tell Grandma that I miss her. 

But grandma does not need to be capitalized when it’s simply used as a way to refer to her, as in Please tell my grandma that I miss her. 

Example: It doesn’t matter what you call your grandma, as long as you call her.

The first records of the word grandma come from the 1700s. The word ma is a shortening of mama, which is first recorded in the 1500s but was certainly used in speech much earlier than that. The prefix grand- is used in family terms to indicate a person who is one generation removed, as in grandparent and grandchild. (The prefix great- indicates yet another generation, as in great-grandma.)

Grandmas often have special bonds with their grandchildren (who they’re known to spoil with love, affection, and candy). It’s common for grandchildren to refer to their grandmothers with informal names. Grandma is perhaps the most common variant of the word grandmother, but there are many others, including grandmom, gramma, grandmamma, gran, granny, and nana. Many families have their own specific version, such as meemaw and MaMotts.

What are some synonyms for grandma?

• grandmother
• grandmom
• grandmama
• grandmamma
• granny
• nana

What are some words that share a root or word element with grandma? 

• great-grandmother
• grandparent
• mother
• grandpa
• ma
• mama

What are some words that often get used in discussing grandma?

• grandchildren
• love
• kindness
• spoil
• special
• care
• family
• matriarch

Grandma is perhaps the most common informal way of saying grandmother. When it’s used as a proper name, Grandma should be capitalized.

My grandmother wasn’t just MY grandma… She was everybodys grandma ☺️💙 she loved wholeheartedly 🥰 I will forever cherish the memories of her. I’m glad I got to thank her for giving me the best Mom & for being the best grandma I’ll ever know 😭🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/G7u33SgixJ

— yourfavoritefeti (@kymailawlow) August 3, 2020

I love my grandma so much. Like she’s literally my best friend and I can’t imagine this world without her.

— 𝖘𝖍𝖆𝖞 🥀 (@Shlayer_H) August 2, 2020

There's a reason why moms and grandmas know what's best for their children lol.

— Jason M. (@TrekJay617) August 3, 2020

Is grandma used correctly in the following sentence?

I’m a grandma of two and a mother of five, so I know a thing or two about temper tantrums.