variants
also grandaddy
as in forerunner
something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed
the granddaddy of all English mystery novels
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Recent Examples of granddaddy
Bill and his granddaddy wait as the police officer arrives.
—
Janine Rubenstein, PEOPLE, 9 Oct. 2025
The Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement – the deal that ceded the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Adolf Hitler’s Germany in a bid to avert war in Europe — is the granddaddy of historical analogies.
—Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2025
Then the old granddaddy of all the deer tribes came out of the thicket and followed the does.
—Chester Chatfield, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2025
The granddaddy of all junior surf contests, The Menehune contest was first held at the La Jolla Shores in 1965 and was won by a young girl, Margot Godfrey (Oberg), a future world champion.
—News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for granddaddy
Janine Rubenstein, PEOPLE, 9 Oct. 2025
The Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement – the deal that ceded the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Adolf Hitler’s Germany in a bid to avert war in Europe — is the granddaddy of historical analogies.
—Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2025
Then the old granddaddy of all the deer tribes came out of the thicket and followed the does.
—Chester Chatfield, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2025
The granddaddy of all junior surf contests, The Menehune contest was first held at the La Jolla Shores in 1965 and was won by a young girl, Margot Godfrey (Oberg), a future world champion.
—News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for granddaddy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for granddaddy
Noun
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Like these forerunners, the pleasures of Knight’s A Thousand Blows, which premiered all six episodes of its second season on Hulu Friday, lies in looking back on that thin sliver of time, about 15 years ago, when anachronistic old-timey crime was in vogue.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
9 Jan. 2026
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The League of Nations was the forerunner to the UN and is famous among historians for its formation after the wreckage of World War I and its almost immediate failure to prevent the rise of authoritarianism in the 1930s that gave way to World War II.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Staying on-site also puts guests inside a 19th-century estate tied to the Leacock family, British ancestors of the current owners, who helped pioneer Madeira wine’s trade with England and remained among the island’s major producers until 1925.—
Lauren Mowery,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
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The researchers also said that the paintings were very likely created by people closely linked to the ancestors of Indigenous Australians.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The vast majority of these deaths are caused by illicit fentanyl which experts report is typically synthesized in Mexico from precursor chemicals provided by Chinese operatives and brought into the United States via vehicles passing through official ports of entry.—
Charles LeBaron,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
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The Golden Globes are a great precursor to what is to come there.—
Noelle Lilley,
CBS News,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Granddaddy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/granddaddy. Accessed 24 Jan. 2026.
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