impressive in size, appearance, or general effect.
grand mountain scenery.
stately, majestic, or dignified.
In front of an audience her manner is grand and regal.
highly ambitious or idealistic.
grand ideas for bettering the political situation.
magnificent or splendid.
a grand palace.
noble or revered.
a grand old man.
highest, or very high, in rank or official dignity.
a grand potentate.
main or principal; chief.
the grand ballroom.
of great importance, distinction, or pretension.
a man used to entertaining grand personages.
complete or comprehensive.
a grand total.
pretending to grandeur, as a result of minor success, good fortune, etc.; conceited.
Jane is awfully grand since she got promoted.
first-rate; very good; splendid.
to have a grand time; to feel grand.
Music. written on a large scale or for a large ensemble.
a grand fugue.
Informal. an amount equal to a thousand dollars.
The cops found most of the loot, but they're still missing about five grand.
large or impressive in size, extent, or consequence
grand mountain scenery
characterized by or attended with magnificence or display; sumptuous
a grand feast
of great distinction or pretension; dignified or haughty
designed to impress
he punctuated his story with grand gestures
very good; wonderful
comprehensive; complete
a grand total
worthy of respect; fine
a grand old man
large or impressive in conception or execution
grand ideas
most important; chief
the grand arena
short for grand piano
slang a thousand pounds or dollars
What does grand- mean? Grand- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “one generation more remote." It is typically used in genealogical terms. Grand- comes from Latin grandis, meaning “great,” “large,” or "full-grown." The Greek translation of grandis is mégas, meaning “big” or “great.” Mégas is the source of the combining form mega-. To learn more, check out our entry on mega-. What are variants of grand-?While not a variant of grand- in this sense exactly, the prefix great- is used to indicate further generations remote, as in great-grandparent, or parent two generations removed.
First recorded in 1350–1400; 1920–25 grand for def. 14; Middle English gra(u)nd, gra(u)nt, from Old French grant, grand, from Latin grandis “great, large, full-grown”
Special use of grand
Something that's grand is large and impressive. A fancy, catered birthday party with a guest list of hundreds could be described as grand. The adjective grand can be used in many different ways: it can describe big things, like a grand piano or the Grand Canyon, or luxurious things, like the grand leather seats in your dad's Cadillac. You can also use grand to simply mean "wonderful," as when you exclaim, "Chocolate cake for dessert! Isn't this grand!" Grand is also a slang term for "a thousand dollars." The Latin root is grandis, "big, great, full, or abundant."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But Hamilton came oh so close to doing so as Ferrari's upgrades for this race paid off, allowing him to take his first grand prix front-row start since the 2024 British Grand Prix.
From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026
Spielberg’s belief has always been that the movie must communicate with the audience through some kind of grand spectacle.
From Salon • Jun. 13, 2026
"He was already a star living all over the world, mixing in high society, staying in grand hotels -- and usually in some sort of emotional turmoil."
From Barron's • Jun. 12, 2026
Many employees at Starbase stand to make small fortunes, injecting immense wealth into a region already straining to accommodate Musk’s grand ambitions.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
As she was led around the ring in the grand parade, she stopped right by me where I was sitting in the front row, and reached out her trunk towards me.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
