grand old man

noun

Examples: grand old man in a Sentence

Definition of grand old man

: a venerated practitioner or former practitioner of an art, profession, or sport

the grand old man of jazz

See grand old man defined for English-language learners

Examples of grand old man in a Sentence

the grand old man of the American theater

Recent Examples of grand old man from the Web

The grand old man of counter-culture country plays the House of Blues.

— NOLA.com, "New Orleans 2018 spring concert schedule: From Willie Nelson to Hall and Oates," 26 Feb. 2018
Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky but survived office and has enjoyed a post-presidential career as a globetrotting elder statesman and grand old man of the Democratic Party.

— david a. graham, The Atlantic, "Blake Farenthold and the Grandfathering of Sexual Harassment," 14 Dec. 2017
Now, Gates is the grand old man, a savvy mentor for players such as second-year tight end Hunter Henry, who might be a rising star but barely factored into the game plan in the opener.

— sam farmer, sandiegouniontribune.com, "History must wait for Chargers' Gates," 11 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'grand old man.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.