What does "nanny" mean?
A child's nurse.
Nanny
/ˈnæni/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A child's nurse.
- Grammar: nanny is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: amah, ayah, babyminder, babysitter.
- Useful contrasts: billy, buck, governesses.
- Usage evidence: Sometimes the nanny goat wants to go into the forest to get food. She calls all seven kids and warns them about the vicious wolf.
How to use "nanny"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "nanny" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "nanny" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "nanny" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "nanny" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "nanny" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "amah" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "nanny", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A child's nurse.
"Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall. Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime. Their bases were on a level with the pavement outside, a narrow way which was several feet lower than the road behind the house."
- 2 female goat wordnet
- 3 A grandmother. colloquial
- 4 a woman who is the custodian of children wordnet
- 5 A godmother. US, colloquial
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A female goat.
"Breeding is a consuming goal, and the ascendance of the sex drive is nearly as apparent in the behavior of a mountain goat billy. So given over is he to following and defending a succession of nannies as he searches for one in heat (estrus), he loses interest in food altogether; […]"
- 7 Synonym of sylvester (“device for pulling out pit props”).
Verb
- 1 To serve as a nanny. intransitive, transitive
- 2 To treat like a nanny's charges; to coddle. derogatory, transitive
"In real life, says a Democratic campaign aide, members of Congress are too nannied by staff to stride about hatching plots, one-on-one."
Proper Noun
- 1 A diminutive of the female given names Ann or Anne.
Antonyms
Example
"Sometimes the nanny goat wants to go into the forest to get food. She calls all seven kids and warns them about the vicious wolf."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "nanny"?
Common synonyms include: amah, ayah, babyminder, babysitter, babysitters, biddy.
How do you use "nanny" in a sentence?
Sometimes the nanny goat wants to go into the forest to get food. She calls all seven kids and warns them about the vicious wolf.
How do you pronounce "nanny"?
Pronounced /ˈnæni/.
Etymology
From nan (“grandmother; nursemaid”) + -y. The root is from nana (“grandma; nanny”), which is from nanna (“grandmother”), which is possibly derived from Proto-Celtic *nana (“grandmother”). See also Proto-Brythonic *nanī, Welsh nain (“grandmother”), Galician nana (“mama”), Spanish nana (“granny; nanny; mommy; housekeeper”), Sicilian nanna (“grandma”), Italian nonna (“granny”), Late Latin nonna (“nun; tutoress; old woman”), Norman nonne (“nun”), Old French nonain (“nun”). All probably ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root imitative of a child babbling, similar to Ancient Greek νάννα (nánna). (1795) It has often been assumed that the English term was originally a widespread child's word for "female adult other than mother" (compare Greek νάννα (nánna, “aunt”), nanna). On the other hand, according to recent research of the Dutch historical linguists Hans Beelen and Nicoline van der Sijs (published in Onze Taal, September 2018), on which see also etymologiebank.nl, in Dutch), the term nanny (and the British colloquial nan for "grandmother") may actually be eponymous, viz. being originally an affective form (i.e. a hypocoristic) of the popular female name Anne. The Dutch statesman and scientist Constantijn Huygens Jr. made the following observation during one of his many sojourns in England (noted in his Journaal, dated 13 December 1692): "Yesterday I received 10lb of chocolate again, from niece Becker, and she had Nanny, her maid, bringing me the money that she had owed me" (Gisteren kreegh 10 ℔ choccolate wederom van nicht Becker, en had Nanny, haer meidt, geweest om mij 't geldt, dat van haer hebben most, te brengen). Beelen and van der Sijs therefore assumed that "since many female domestic servants were named "Nan" or "Nanny", the name became a sobriquet for the profession of "maid, childminder" in the 18ᵗʰ century". ("Omdat veel vrouwelijke huisbedienden in het Engels de voornaam Nan of Nanny hadden, verschoof de betekenis in de achttiende eeuw naar die van een beroepsaanduiding: ‘meid, kindermeisje’")