Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A person, traditionally a woman, employed to take care of a child.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A nanny-goat.
  • noun In coal-mining, a natural joint, crack, or slip in the coal-measures: nearly the same as cleat.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A diminutive of Ann or Anne, the proper name.
  • noun [Colloq.] a female goat.
  • noun a caretaker for a child; a child's nurse; a nursemaid.
  • noun Grandmother; -- a child's word, used especially as a form of address. See also nana.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A child's nurse
  • noun colloquial A grandmother.
  • noun A female goat

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun female goat
  • noun a woman who is the custodian of children

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Alteration of nana.]

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Examples

  • Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has used the phrase "nanny state."

    Breaking News: CBS News 2012

  • I hope for every drunken nanny (that's what we call the nanny in my big sis's comment), there is a Laura and that she will be walking down your cul de sac soon and knowcking on your door.

    geneva conventions 2009

  • Like they have their own place separate from the Donald and his latest, as if the nanny is the mommy?

    Friday Miscellany | Her Bad Mother 2006

  • I remember Anson Guthrie remarking once that when he was young, Sweden was what he called a nanny state, but it got rid of that and nowadays people there are more free than in most countries, including North America.

    The Stars Are Also Fire Anderson, Poul, 1926-2001 1994

  • I remember Anson Guthrie remarking once that when he was young, Sweden was what he called a nanny state, but it got rid of that and nowadays people there are more free than in most countries, including North America.

    The Stars Are Also Fire Anderson, Poul, 1926-2001 1994

  • When you're at work, these strangers you call their nanny are the ones interacting with your kids.

    ReadABlog.com New Blogs and RSS Feeds 2010

  • Sara Gran quickly nails the fundamental weakness of CF's argument of "telling other women not to work and to raise their kids themselves ... as she's writing books and a nanny is watching her kids."

    Humour Maxine 2009

  • If a nanny is of use to their project, she will be enlisted.

    A Conversation with Gish Jen about The Love Wife 2010

  • Sara Gran quickly nails the fundamental weakness of CF's argument of "telling other women not to work and to raise their kids themselves ... as she's writing books and a nanny is watching her kids."

    Magazines Maxine 2009

  • "Whenever I called the nanny agencies [for work] before, right away they'd give me some families who wanted to interview me," says Natasha Ivanov, a Mountain View resident who has worked as a nanny here for 15 years.

    Soft Economy Eases Cost of Hiring a Nanny Pui-Wing Tam 2010

  • She says that many caregivers consider nanny cams a win-win technology. “Nanny cams can provide great peace of mind for parents to be sure that the needs of their child are being met,” she says.

    Best Nanny Cams of 2025 - Consumer Reports Daniel Wroclawski 2023

Comments

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  • "Children, look what Mummy's brought! A new Nanny! Come and say 'How do you do?'" - ''Yashima, or, The Gorgeous West'' by R T Sherwood, 1931.

    (Note the use of "nanny" instead of "nurse" -- what would Nancy Mitford have said about its U-ness?)

    December 24, 2008

  • Holmes sometimes calls Mrs. Hudson this.

    June 13, 2012