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
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
This show has become the granddaddy of tech shows and is the largest in the U.S.
—Tim Bajarin, Forbes, 17 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
See All Example Sentences for granddaddy
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
This show has become the granddaddy of tech shows and is the largest in the U.S.
—Tim Bajarin, Forbes, 17 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
See All Example Sentences for granddaddy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for granddaddy
Noun
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The ancestors of tens of millions of Americans left miserable lives in Ireland for initially difficult ones here.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
29 Mar. 2025
-
The flights will begin before Chuseok (October 15), also known as Korean Thanksgiving Day, which celebrates both the harvest and their ancestors.—
Brandon Withrow,
Travel + Leisure,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The most obvious forerunner is Video Quartet, a 2002 work in which four screens show four videos simultaneously, each constructed from myriad film clips, all synced in a way that interlaces their soundtracks into a musical composition.—
Jonathon Keats,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
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Solution #4: Charles Schwab Schwab, a forerunner in discount brokerage, has a bank subsidiary that can do what banks usually do.—
William Baldwin,
Forbes,
16 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Whereas Main Street’s predecessor as recently as October of 2024 had planned to void all of its legacy MLB deals but for one, the company entered the new season with nine clubs under contract.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
28 Mar. 2025
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Larry, who died in January, was a 31-year veteran of the New York office of FTA and its predecessor, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA), who began as a political appointee in 1981 under the Reagan administration and stayed, switching over to being in the career civil service.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
27 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Granddaddy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/granddaddy. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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