Great Britain

American  

noun

1. an island of NW Europe, separated from the mainland by the English Channel and the North Sea: since 1707 the name has applied politically to England, Scotland, and Wales. 88,139 sq. mi. (228,280 sq. km).

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Great Britain British  

noun

1. England, Wales, and Scotland including those adjacent islands governed from the mainland (i.e. excluding the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands). The United Kingdom of Great Britain was formed by the Act of Union (1707), although the term Great Britain had been in use since 1603, when James VI of Scotland became James I of England (including Wales). Later unions created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1922). Pop: 57 851 100 (2003 est). Area: 229 523 sq km (88 619 sq miles) See also United Kingdom

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Compare meaning

How does great-britain compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Great Britain vs. United Kingdom
• England vs. Great Britain
• Britain vs. Great Britain

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Great Britain

The evening session concluded with Great Britain winning a pair of gold medals in the men's and women's 4x100m relays.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

This year the government expects, external to spend a total of £322bn on welfare in Great Britain, or 10.6% of GDP, just over half of which goes to pensioners.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain within days of entering King’s College, Cambridge, in 1936.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Sawyers will now turn her attention to competing for Great Britain at the European Championships in Birmingham, which start on 10 August, but is keen to hang on to the memories Glasgow has given her.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

This blame-the-party-in-power approach made sense in Great Britain, where the prime minister is an elected member of Parliament who serves only as long as his or her party holds a majority of the parliamentary seats.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling