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
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
All grandfathers, uncles, fathers and father figures are invited.
—Melinda Moore, Chicago Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026
Their twins—John and William, named for their grandfathers—were lost.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Nov. 2025
In his latest partnership with Ancestry as part of the organization’s Thank You for Your Service campaign, Bass got to learn even more about both of his grandfathers’ service in the war.
—Stephen Daw, Billboard, 5 Nov. 2025
Civil Code Section 4740 grandfathers rental prohibitions, while Section 4741 bans rental prohibitions and unreasonable restrictions.
—Kelly G. Richardson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Nov. 2025
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
All grandfathers, uncles, fathers and father figures are invited.
—Melinda Moore, Chicago Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026
Their twins—John and William, named for their grandfathers—were lost.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Nov. 2025
In his latest partnership with Ancestry as part of the organization’s Thank You for Your Service campaign, Bass got to learn even more about both of his grandfathers’ service in the war.
—Stephen Daw, Billboard, 5 Nov. 2025
Civil Code Section 4740 grandfathers rental prohibitions, while Section 4741 bans rental prohibitions and unreasonable restrictions.
—Kelly G. Richardson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grandfathers
Noun
-
And again the morgues and graveyards of Iran received fathers and sons, mothers and daughters.—
Azar Nafisi,
Time,
3 Feb. 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,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Connie Martin always knew who her ancestors were growing up.—
Carolyn Stein,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Some of those ancestors left Africa to explore Europe.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grandfathers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grandfathers. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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