Definition of 'great'
Word forms: comparative greater
, superlative greatest
, plural greats
1. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
2. adjective
Great means large in amount or degree.
4. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
You can describe someone who is successful and famous for their actions, knowledge, or skill as great.
5. plural noun
6. plural noun
The greats of popular modern music are records that have been successful and that continue to be popular.
[journalism] 7. adjective
8. adjective
9. adjective
You use great in order to emphasize the size or degree of a characteristic or quality.
[emphasis]
10. exclamation
11. exclamation
12. countable noun
13. See also greater
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
prefix
Great- is used before some nouns that refer to relatives. Nouns formed in this way refer to a relative who is a further generation away from you. For example, your great-aunt is the aunt of one of your parents.
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Video: pronunciation of
great
great in British English
adjective
1.
2.
relatively large in number; having many parts or members
a great assembly
7.
13.
doing or exemplifying (a characteristic or pursuit) on a large scale
what a great buffoon
he's not a great one for reading
19. See be great on
adverb
20. informal
very well; excellently
it was working great
noun
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
greatly (ˈgreatly) adverb
greatness (ˈgreatness)
noun
Word origin
Old English grēat; related to Old Frisian grāt, Old High German grōz; see grit, groatgreat- in British English
prefix
1.
being the parent of a person's grandparent (in the combinations great-grandfather, great-grandmother, great-grandparent)
2.
being the child of a person's grandchild (in the combinations great-grandson, great-granddaughter, great-grandchild)
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
great in American English
adjective
1.
; esp.,
a.
designating a thing or group of things larger than others of the same kind
the great cats are tigers, lions, etc.; the Great Lakes
c.
long in duration
a great while
2.
much higher in some quality or degree; much above the ordinary or average
; esp.,
b.
very much of a; acting much as (something specified)
a great reader
3.
of most importance; main; chief
the great seal
6. Chiefly Dialectal
pregnant
: chiefly in great with child adverb
7. Informal
very well
noun
8.
a great or distinguished person
usually used in pl. SIMILAR WORDS: large
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
greatly (ˈgreatly)
adverb
greatness (ˈgreatness)
noun
Word origin
ME grete < OE great, akin to Ger gross, Du groot < IE base *ghrēu-, rub hard over, crumble > grit, Welsh gro, sand: basic sense “coarse, coarsegrained”
great- in American English
older (or younger) by one generation
each additional great- shows one further generation removed great-aunt, great-great-grandson
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
< great, taken as intensifier
great in American Englishesp collectively
(ɡreit) (adjective -er, -est, noun plural greats, great)
adjective
1.
unusually or comparatively large in size or dimensions
A great fire destroyed nearly half the city
2.
large in number; numerous
Great hordes of tourists descend on Europe each summer
7.
important; highly significant or consequential
the great issues in American history
8.
distinguished; famous
a great inventor
10.
chief or principal
the great hall
his greatest novel
12.
much in use or favor
“Humor” was a great word with the old physiologists
14.
of considerable duration or length
We waited a great while for the train
15. informal
a. (usually fol. by at, for, or on)
enthusiastic about some specified activity
He's great on reading poetry aloud
b. (usually fol. by at or on)
skillful; expert
He's great at golf
16. (used in combination)
being of one generation more remote from the family relative specified
a great-grandson
17. See great with child
adverb
18. informal
very well
Things have been going great for him
noun
19.
a person who has achieved importance or distinction in a field
She is one of the theater's greats
20.
great persons, collectively
England's literary great
21. (often cap)
greats (used with a sing v) Also called (Brit. informal): great go
a.
the final examination for the bachelor's degree in the classics and mathematics, or Literae Humaniores, esp. at Oxford University and usually for honors
b.
the course of study
c.
the subject studied
interjection
22.
23.
Great! We just missed the last train home
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
greatness noun
Word origin
[bef. 900; ME greet, OE grēat; c. D groot, G gross]Examples of 'great' in a sentence
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In other languages
great
British English: great
/ɡreɪt/ ADJECTIVE
very large Great means very large.
The king lived in a great palace.
- American English: great /ˈgreɪt/
- Arabic: عَظِيم
- Brazilian Portuguese: grande
- Chinese: 伟大的
- Croatian: velik
- Czech: velký
- Danish: stor
- Dutch: enorm
- European Spanish: gran
- Finnish: suuri mahtava
- French: super
- German: groß
- Greek: εξέχων
- Italian: grande
- Japanese: 大きな
- Korean: 큰
- Norwegian: stor
- Polish: wielki
- European Portuguese: enorme
- Romanian: imens
- Russian: огромный
- Latin American Spanish: gran
- Swedish: stor
- Thai: ยิ่งใหญ่ อลังการ
- Turkish: büyük müthiş
- Ukrainian: великий
- Vietnamese: to lớn
British English: great
/ɡreɪt/ ADJECTIVE
very important Great means very important.
The computer was a great invention.
- American English: great /ˈgreɪt/
- Arabic: هامّ
- Brazilian Portuguese: importante
- Chinese: 重要的
- Croatian: značajan
- Czech: významný
- Danish: stor
- Dutch: belangrijk
- European Spanish: grande
- Finnish: hieno
- French: grand très important
- German: toll
- Greek: σπουδαίος
- Italian: grande
- Japanese: 優れた
- Korean: 중요한
- Norwegian: flott
- Polish: wspaniały
- European Portuguese: grande
- Romanian: semnificativ
- Russian: важнейший
- Latin American Spanish: importante
- Swedish: stor
- Thai: สำคัญยิ่ง
- Turkish: harika
- Ukrainian: величний
- Vietnamese: quan trọng
British English: great
/ɡreɪt/ ADJECTIVE
excellent If you say that something is great, you mean that it is very good.
We had a great time.
- American English: great /ˈgreɪt/
- Arabic: عَظِيم
- Brazilian Portuguese: fantástico
- Chinese: 非常好的
- Croatian: odličan
- Czech: skvělý
- Danish: fantastisk
- Dutch: geweldig
- European Spanish: sensacional
- Finnish: mahtava
- French: très bien
- German: schön
- Greek: εξαιρετικός
- Italian: fantastico
- Japanese: 素晴らしい
- Korean: 매우 좋은
- Norwegian: fin
- Polish: świetny
- European Portuguese: ótimo
- Romanian: grozav
- Russian: замечательный
- Latin American Spanish: genial
- Swedish: underbar
- Thai: ดีเยี่ยม
- Turkish: iyi
- Ukrainian: чудовий
- Vietnamese: tuyệt vời
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great
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Definition of great from the Collins English Dictionary
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