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Definition of grand adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

grand

adjective
 
 
/ɡrænd/
 
/ɡrænd/
(comparative grander, superlative grandest)
Idioms
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  1.  
     impressive and large or important
    • It's not a very grand house.
    • The wedding was a very grand occasion.
    • The book dares to take on grand themes in the grand manner.
    Topics Buildingsb2
  2. Grand
     [only before noun] used in the names of impressive or very large buildings, etc.
    • the Grand Canyon
    • We stayed at the Grand Hotel.
  3.  
     needing a lot of effort, money or time to succeed but intended to achieve impressive results
    • a grand plan/strategy/scheme
    • The gallery had its grand opening on 18 January.
    • New Yorkers built their city on a grand scale.
    Topics Successb2
  4. used to describe the largest or most important item of its kind
    • The film won the grand prize at the Berlin Film Festival.
    • Tomorrow is the grand final with just 12 contestants left from the hundreds who entered.
  5. (of people) behaving in a proud way because they are rich or from a high social class
    • They're all Lord or Lady somebody or other, but they're not at all grand.
    • She put on her grandest air and waltzed into the living room to join the others.
  6. (dialect or informal) very good or great fun; excellent
    • I had a grand day out at the seaside.
    • Thanks. That'll be grand!
    • Fred did a grand job of painting the house.
  7. Grand
     used in the titles of people of very high social rank
    • the Grand Duchess Elena
    8. see also grandeur
    Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French grant, grand, from Latin grandis ‘full-grown, big, great’. The original uses were to denote family relationships and as a title (the Grand, translating Old French le Grand); hence the senses ‘of the highest rank’, ‘of great importance’.
Idioms
a/the grand old age (of…)
  1. a great age
    • She finally learned to drive at the grand old age of 70.
a/the grand old man (of something)
  1. a man who is respected in a particular profession that he has been involved in for a long time
    • James Lovelock, the grand old man of environmental science
    CultureGrand Old Man was a title originally used to refer to William Gladstone, who spent many years in British politics in 19th century and was prime minister four times.
See grand in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee grand in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: grand

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
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