as in fathers
a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent
this tradition has been passed down from our pioneer grandfathers
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Recent Examples of grandfathers
College-age amateurs competing alongside former champions old enough to be their grandfathers is a longstanding Masters tradition.
—
Jack Leo, AJC.com, 4 Apr. 2026
Robert Pelot, the owner of Pelot’s Rexall Pharmacy, said it’s been in his family since one of his great-grandfathers moved to the Bradenton area from Indiana in the late 1800s.
—Amaia Gavica, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2026
Is this the noble cause that our grandfathers would have shed their blood for 85 years ago?
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 4 Mar. 2026
His grandfathers, fishermen Pietro Tarantino and Gaetano D’Acquisto, immigrated to the area from Porticello, Sicily, in the early 1900s and settled in Little Italy.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026
Sweet Country was about our grandfathers, who were taken as children to become slaves on cattle stations, on ranches.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 12 Feb. 2026
My grandfathers had both been miners whose early deaths owed much to their working lives.
—Literary Hub, 27 Jan. 2026
And the same impressive nature was true of both women's grandfathers, says Jones.
—Alex Ross, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
In the early sixties, one of Chiasson’s grandfathers worked on a crew that blasted a route through the Winooski River Valley to bring Interstate 89 up to Burlington.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
Jack Leo, AJC.com, 4 Apr. 2026
Robert Pelot, the owner of Pelot’s Rexall Pharmacy, said it’s been in his family since one of his great-grandfathers moved to the Bradenton area from Indiana in the late 1800s.
—Amaia Gavica, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2026
Is this the noble cause that our grandfathers would have shed their blood for 85 years ago?
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 4 Mar. 2026
His grandfathers, fishermen Pietro Tarantino and Gaetano D’Acquisto, immigrated to the area from Porticello, Sicily, in the early 1900s and settled in Little Italy.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026
Sweet Country was about our grandfathers, who were taken as children to become slaves on cattle stations, on ranches.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 12 Feb. 2026
My grandfathers had both been miners whose early deaths owed much to their working lives.
—Literary Hub, 27 Jan. 2026
And the same impressive nature was true of both women's grandfathers, says Jones.
—Alex Ross, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
In the early sixties, one of Chiasson’s grandfathers worked on a crew that blasted a route through the Winooski River Valley to bring Interstate 89 up to Burlington.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grandfathers
Noun
-
Our Revolutionary fathers were influenced by the Bible, particularly as Scripture was interpreted through British common law.—
James O. Cunningham,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Tisch and John Mara have functioned as the Giants franchise’s controlling owners for their respective families since the passing of their fathers, Bob Tisch and Wellington Mara, in 2005.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
However, some species occasionally behave in ways that recall their land-curious evolutionary ancestors.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Your hamburger’s ancestors are extinct.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grandfathers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grandfathers. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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