grandfather clause
noun
plural grandfather clauses
: a clause creating an exemption based on circumstances previously existing
Hospital officials have asked for a grandfather clause for their heliports because without it, proposed zoning regulations would eliminate all city hospital helicopters.—
Dan Donovan
Dan Donovan… his plan contained a grandfather clause. The fees would only apply to incoming students.—Scott Sherman
Scott Sherman… a friend, who is a landlord, started talking about "grandfather clauses" that would exempt him from making renovations when she asked him about making an apartment accessible.—Mary Grimley Mason
Mary Grimley Mason
specifically
: a provision in several southern state constitutions designed to enfranchise poor white people and disenfranchise Black people by waiving high voting requirements for descendants of men voting before 1867
Several states, including Louisiana, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, inserted "grandfather clauses" in their constitutions in order to permit persons, who could not otherwise qualify, to vote if their fathers or grandfathers could vote in 1866. —John Hope Franklin
John Hope Franklin Examples of grandfather clause in a Sentence
Because of a grandfather clause, the strict emission standards only apply to new cars.
Recent Examples on the Web
There is no such grandfather clause in this year’s edition.
—John Tuohy, The Courier-Journal, 12 June 2024
And for them, the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 was hardly a watershed, since for decades after its passage, the vast majority of Black women (and men) in the South continued to be denied the right to vote owing to disenfranchising tactics such as poll taxes and grandfather clauses.
—Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2020
The grandfather clause and the expiration date in the gender-affirming care ban were viewed as concessions to Democrats, who had spent hours filibustering against the bill.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
The law includes exceptions for such care for non-transgender youth, and also includes a grandfather clause that allows transgender people already receiving care to continue doing so.
—Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for grandfather clause 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
John Tuohy, The Courier-Journal, 12 June 2024
And for them, the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 was hardly a watershed, since for decades after its passage, the vast majority of Black women (and men) in the South continued to be denied the right to vote owing to disenfranchising tactics such as poll taxes and grandfather clauses.
—Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2020
The grandfather clause and the expiration date in the gender-affirming care ban were viewed as concessions to Democrats, who had spent hours filibustering against the bill.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
The law includes exceptions for such care for non-transgender youth, and also includes a grandfather clause that allows transgender people already receiving care to continue doing so.
—Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for grandfather clause
Dictionary Entries Near grandfather clause
Cite this Entry
“Grandfather clause.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grandfather%20clause. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share