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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of granddaddy
Trump’s directive repeals a series of executive orders promoting affirmative action in government, including the granddaddy of them all, President Lyndon ...
—
Rich Lowry, National Review, 24 Jan. 2025
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 granddaddy of all medical dramas ran from 1994 to 2009, for 15 old-school, network-length seasons on NBC.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2025
Week 4: No. 15 Tennessee at No. 16 Oklahoma (Sept. 21)
Sports columnists love a narrative game, and this is the granddaddy of narrative games.
—Blake Toppmeyer, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for granddaddy
Rich Lowry, National Review, 24 Jan. 2025
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 granddaddy of all medical dramas ran from 1994 to 2009, for 15 old-school, network-length seasons on NBC.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2025
Week 4: No. 15 Tennessee at No. 16 Oklahoma (Sept. 21)
Sports columnists love a narrative game, and this is the granddaddy of narrative games.
—Blake Toppmeyer, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for granddaddy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for granddaddy
Noun
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Until recently, the ancestors of insects were thought to be more millipede-like and evolved once invertebrates began to live on land.—
Riley Black,
Smithsonian Magazine,
9 Apr. 2025
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During the Pleistocene, our ancestors lived through several different ice ages.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Yet this brand of Christian Zionism is clearly the forerunner to today’s – and holds sway in Washington.—
Shalom Goldman,
The Conversation,
2 Apr. 2025
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The title is an apt, if sort of obvious, introduction to Turner, who has been hailed as the forerunner to modern art.—
Tessa Solomon,
ARTnews.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Smith, though, applies the moniker more readily to his predecessors who ventured heroically into the relative unknown.—
Julia Boatman,
Robb Report,
12 Apr. 2025
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Scattered but often intriguing, Season 6 marked both an improvement on its predecessor and a departure from the series’ typically grim, ironic, dystopian science fiction.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
10 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Granddaddy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/granddaddy. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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