nanny

A2 · Elementary Countable noun Informal

n. a name that some people use for their grandmother.

n. a familiar or colloquial term for a grandmother.

“We are going to visit Nanny and Grandad this weekend.”

“In many British households, 'Nanny' is the preferred affectionate title for a maternal grandmother, distinguished from 'Granny' on the paternal side.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun

n. a female goat.

n. a female goat, often used in the compound 'nanny goat' to distinguish it from a 'billy goat'.

“The farmer kept one nanny goat for milk and several others for breeding.”

“The nanny goat was protective of her kids, bleating loudly whenever the farm dog approached the enclosure.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to work as a person who takes care of children.

v. to perform the duties of a nanny; to provide professional childcare.

“She spent her gap year nannying for a family in Paris to improve her French.”

“He supported himself through university by nannying for local families during the summer holidays.”

C1 · Advanced Informal

v. to treat someone like a child or protect them too much.

v. to treat someone in an overprotective or patronising manner, as if they were a small child.

“I am an adult and I don't need the government to nanny me.”

“Critics of the new sugar tax argued that the government was attempting to nanny the public instead of encouraging personal responsibility.”