VocabauraVOCABAURA

granny

noun · verb · adjective

Simple meaning

Any elderly woman, regardless of if she has grandchildren.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

granee

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɡɹæni

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. colloquial

    Any elderly woman, regardless of if she has grandchildren.

  2. colloquial

    A grandmother.

  3. colloquial

    An old woman

  4. A reef knot crossed the wrong way and therefore insecure

  5. A knot similar to the reef knot but crossed the opposite way.

  6. Australiacolloquial

    A grand final.

verb

  1. informalintransitive

    To act like a stereotypical grandmother; to fuss.

adjective

  1. informal

    Typically or stereotypically old-fashioned, especially in clothing and accessories worn by or associated with elderly women.

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Any elderly woman, regardless of if she has grandchildren.

Used this way, granny is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in everyday conversation and social media or informal writing contexts.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Casual
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Playful
Usage feel
Casual and conversational

Where it naturally appears

  • Everyday conversation
  • Social media/informal writing

Nearby words

  • grannie , much rarer in everyday speech

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use granny

  • “My granny always bakes delicious cookies when I visit her.”

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “granny”. We review each one before it appears.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: any elderly woman

grannieRare

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “granny” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.