grand

Pluralgrands, grand

1. 1
   magnificentadjectiveaugmentative

   Impressive or magnificent, especially in size, appearance, style or ambition; also dignified and stately.

   The mansion's grand ballroom could host several hundred guests at once.

   A grand cathedral dominated the skyline, visible from miles away.

   UsageApproving for places and events, as in a grand entrance; of a person's manner it can suggest self-importance.

   Similarmagnificent, imposing, impressive, majestic, splendid

   Oppositemodest, humble, unimpressive

   Note

   Size joined to splendor makes this a word of approval, usually. In Sheridan Le Fanu's The House by the Churchyard (1863), a man is "a little bit huffed and grand," put out and standing on his dignity. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Sheridan Le Fanu wrote The House by the Churchyard. gutenberg.org
   • The first book publication was in 1863; serialization ran from 1861 to 1863. celt.ucc.ie
   • The narrator describes a man, Captain Cluffe, as "a little bit huffed and grand"; the context supports the gloss about wounded dignity. gutenberg.org
2. 2
   chiefadjectiveaugmentative

   Having higher rank, dignity, size, or importance than others of the same name.

   The grand vizier held more power than any other minister at court.

   He earned the title of grand master after decades of study.

   UsageUsed before titles: grand duke, grand master.

   Similarchief, supreme

   Note

   Placed before a title, it marks the senior or larger member of a class: a grand lodge above ordinary lodges, a grand vizier above lesser viziers. The same logic named the grand piano, the larger instrument, which in turn gave the noun for the piano. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • A grand lodge supervises ordinary lodges. en.wikipedia.org
   • The name grand piano distinguished the larger instrument from smaller types. pianohistory.info
   • Grand piano gave rise to grand as a noun meaning that instrument. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   thousand (money)nouncolloquialcountable

   A thousand units of currency, such as dollars or pounds.

   The repair bill came to nearly ten grand.

   They offered him fifty grand to sell the house quickly.

   UsageThe plural stays grand: fifty grand (not incorrect: fifty grands). The currency is most often left unsaid.

   Similarlarge

4. 4
   child's childadjective

   Standing in the second or a more remote degree of parentage or descent, usually as the first part of a compound such as grandparent or grandchild.

   At the reunion she finally met her grand-nephew, the son of the niece she had helped raise.

   The letters in the attic were written by a grand-aunt, her mother's aunt, who taught school for forty years.

   Similargreat

   Note

   Almost never free-standing, this meaning does its work at the front of kinship compounds. Their spelling has settled: grandfather, grandson and grandchild are written solid, though older texts show grand-child with a hyphen. The compounds have since given something back. The noun for a grandparent or grandchild is clipped from words like granddaughter and grandmother, so the prefix has turned into a word of its own again. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • Grand-child is obsolete; the current spelling is grandchild. en.wiktionary.org
   • The noun grand meaning a grandparent or grandchild is clipped from compounds such as granddaughter and grandmother. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   pianonouncountable

   A large, horizontally strung piano; a grand piano.

   The concert hall's grand filled the room with a rich, warm tone.

   Two grands were arranged on stage for the evening's duet.

   UsageTakes a normal plural: two grands are pianos, but two grand is money.

   Oppositeupright

6. 6
   very niceadjectivecolloquialIrelandUK

   Fine and pleasant; lovely.

   She said the meal was grand and asked for the recipe.

   Don't worry about me; I'm grand, really.

   UsageA relaxed yes or all-right: That'd be grand; I'm grand means I'm fine, not boasting.

   Similarfine, lovely, great, okay

   Note

   Everyday speech in Ireland and the North of England, where it is a warm, low-key yes: "A cup of tea? That'd be grand." It means fine or perfectly all right rather than magnificent.

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