grand

views updated

grand / grand/ • adj. 1. magnificent and imposing in appearance, size, or style: a grand country house the dinner party was very grand. ∎  designed to impress through scale or splendor: a grand gesture. ∎  (of a person) of high rank and with an appearance and manner appropriate to it: she was such a grand lady. ∎  large or ambitious in scope or scale: his grand design for the future of Europe collecting on a grand scale. ∎  used in names of places or buildings to suggest size or splendor: the Grand Canyon the Grand Hotel.2. denoting the largest or most important item of its kind: the grand entrance. ∎  of the highest rank (used esp. in official titles): the grand duke. ∎  Law (of a crime) serious: grand theft. Compare with petty (sense 2).3. inf. very good or enjoyable; excellent: we had a grand day.4. [in comb.] (in names of family relationships) denoting one generation removed in ascent or descent: a grand-niece.• n. 1. (pl. same) inf. a thousand dollars or pounds: he gets thirty-five grand a year.2. a grand piano.PHRASES: a (or the) grand old man of a man long and highly respected in (a particular field): the grand old man of the Republican Party.DERIVATIVES: grand·ly adv.grand·ness n.

More From encyclopedia.com