Great Power
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Great Power
First recorded in 1725–35
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"The EU cannot be a Great Power, nor can any of its constituent nations," he argues.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026
The first 80: “Since Japan surrendered in September, 1945, the world has lived in the longest peace—the longest period without Great Power war—since the Roman Empire.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025
“In the two current Great Power competitions, the United States is essentially on the tactical defensive,” he points out.
From Washington Post ● May 4, 2022
As he relates in his memoir, “The Back Channel,” Burns added that Russian “interest in playing a distinctive Great Power role” would “sometimes cause significant problems.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 26, 2022
A Great Power can ill afford to hire out its troops to non-military States, unless they lessen the humiliation of such a proceeding by according the utmost possible freedom.
From William Pitt and the Great War by John Holland Rose
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
