Grant

How to spell grant

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce grant

What does grant mean?

1. verbTo formally give, allow, or agree to something requested.
2. nounA sum of money awarded, usually by an official body, for a specific purpose.

Grant in a sentence

• verb

  The council agreed to grant planning permission for the extension.

• noun

  The university received a research grant to fund the study.

• verb

  The judge may grant bail if the conditions are met.

• noun

  She applied for a small business grant to cover equipment costs.

Where does grant come from?

Language of origin: French

This word came into English in the 1200s from Old French granter or graunter, meaning 'to promise, agree, or allow'. That French verb was itself an altered form of creanter, 'to assure or promise', which traces back to the Latin credere, meaning 'to believe or to trust', the same root that gives us 'credit' and 'creed'. The idea travelled from trusting and promising toward formally bestowing or conceding something, which is how a king might 'grant' land or a body might 'grant' permission. By the time the financial sense arrived (money formally awarded for a purpose), the word had settled into its short, plain modern spelling. Because it is so phonetic, the spelling trap is minimal: it simply ends in the hard '-nt' you hear, with no silent letters to catch you out.

How the word is built

• grant (single root from Old French granter, to promise or allow; no separable prefix or suffix)