variants
also grandaddy
as in ancestor
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
Well, the granddaddy of them all was former President Gerald Ford's pardon of former President Richard Nixon in 1974 for allegations or accusations associated with the Watergate scandal.
—
Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 6 Jan. 2025
The Greatest @Home Videos, of course, is an offshoot from the granddaddy of the clips genre, America’s Funniest Home Videos, which has been a staple on ABC for the last 25 years.
—Marc Berman, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
As the granddaddy of partnerships with limited liability, the LP, the original limited partnership, offered taxpayers the strongest claim for invoking the loophole.
—Paul Kiel, ProPublica, 11 Dec. 2024
Also part of this collection is hats, jackets and socks all paying homage to the granddaddy of American guitars.
—Ron Hart, SPIN, 29 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for granddaddy
Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 6 Jan. 2025
The Greatest @Home Videos, of course, is an offshoot from the granddaddy of the clips genre, America’s Funniest Home Videos, which has been a staple on ABC for the last 25 years.
—Marc Berman, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
As the granddaddy of partnerships with limited liability, the LP, the original limited partnership, offered taxpayers the strongest claim for invoking the loophole.
—Paul Kiel, ProPublica, 11 Dec. 2024
Also part of this collection is hats, jackets and socks all paying homage to the granddaddy of American guitars.
—Ron Hart, SPIN, 29 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for granddaddy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for granddaddy
Noun
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Now is the time to stand up for every American’s First Amendment right to tell their story, to dissent from the government’s world view, to celebrate the resilience and fortitude of ancestors who fought for their rights and their culture in this country.—
John Leguizamo,
New York Daily News,
6 June 2025
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Names carry the legacy of our ancestors, the history of our culture, and the desires of our parents.—
Annabelle Canela,
Parents,
5 June 2025
Noun
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The forerunner of today’s sleek MacBook laptops was the PowerBook.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
11 June 2025
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Frederick Ashton’s for the Sadler’s Wells Ballet (the forerunner of the Royal Ballet) in 1952, with a resplendent Margot Fonteyn in the title role, put the ballet back into the mainstream repertory, though it wasn’t performed by the Royal from the mid-1960s to 2004.—
Roslyn Sulcas,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Noun
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Times staff writer Lila Seidman reports that a May 27 legal opinion by President Trump’s DOJ overturns a more than 80-year-old Justice Department determination that presidents can’t revoke national monuments created by their predecessors under the Antiquities Act.—
Jaclyn Cosgrove,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2025
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Mousavi was appointed the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces after the Israelis killed his predecessor, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, last week.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
18 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Granddaddy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/granddaddy. Accessed 23 Jun. 2025.
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