great
adjective
unusually or comparatively large in size or dimensions.
great
American
[grayt]
/ greɪt /
adjective
-
greater,
comparative
-
greatest
superlative
-
unusually or comparatively large in size or dimensions.
A great fire destroyed nearly half the city.
- Antonyms:
- small
-
large in number; numerous.
Great hordes of tourists descend on Europe each summer.
-
unusual or considerable in degree, power, intensity, etc..
great pain.
-
wonderful; very good; first-rate.
We had a great time.
That's great!
-
being such in an extreme or notable degree.
great friends;
a great talker.
-
exceptionally outstanding; notable; remarkable.
a great occasion.
- Synonyms:
- noteworthy
-
highly significant or consequential; important.
the great issues in American history.
- Antonyms:
- insignificant
-
a great inventor.
- Antonyms:
- insignificant
-
of noble or lofty character.
great thoughts.
-
chief or principal.
the great hall;
his greatest novel.
-
of high rank, official position, or social standing.
a great noble.
- Antonyms:
- insignificant
-
much in use or favor.
“Humor” was a great word with the old physiologists.
-
of extraordinary powers; having unusual merit; very admirable.
a great statesman.
-
of considerable duration or length.
We waited a great while for the train.
-
Informal.
-
being of one generation more remote from the family relative specified (used in combination).
a great-grandson.
adverb
noun
-
greats,
plural
-
great
plural
-
a person who has achieved importance or distinction in a field.
She is one of the theater's greats.
-
great persons, collectively.
England's literary great.
-
Also called great go. (often initial capital letter) greats,
-
the final examination for the bachelor's degree in the classics and mathematics, or Literae Humaniores, especially at Oxford University and usually for honors.
-
the course of study.
-
the subject studied.
-
interjection
-
(used to express acceptance, appreciation, approval, admiration, etc.)
-
(used ironically or facetiously to express disappointment, annoyance, distress, etc.).
Great! We just missed the last train home.
idioms
great
1
British
/ ɡreɪt /
adjective
-
relatively large in size or extent; big
-
relatively large in number; having many parts or members
a great assembly
-
of relatively long duration
a great wait
-
of larger size or more importance than others of its kind
the great auk
-
extreme or more than usual
great worry
-
of significant importance or consequence
a great decision
-
-
of exceptional talents or achievements; remarkable
a great writer
-
( as noun )
the great
one of the greats
-
-
arising from or possessing idealism in thought, action, etc; heroic
great deeds
-
illustrious or eminent
a great history
-
impressive or striking
a great show of wealth
-
much in use; favoured
poetry was a great convention of the Romantic era
-
active or enthusiastic
a great walker
-
doing or exemplifying (a characteristic or pursuit) on a large scale
what a great buffoon
he's not a great one for reading
-
(often foll by at) skilful or adroit
a great carpenter
you are great at singing
-
informal excellent; fantastic
-
informal (intensifier)
a dirty great smack in the face
-
archaic
-
pregnant
great with child
-
full (of)
great with hope
-
-
(intensifier, used in mild oaths)
Great Scott!
-
informal
-
to be informed about
-
to be enthusiastic about or for
-
adverb
noun
great-
2
British
prefix
-
being the parent of a person's grandparent (in the combinations great-grandfather, great-grandmother, great-grandparent )
-
being the child of a person's grandchild (in the combinations great-grandson, great-granddaughter, great-grandchild )
great
More Idioms
Usage
What are other ways to say great? Something that is great may be unusually or comparatively large in size or number. How is great different from the adjectives large and big? Find out more on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
greatnessnoun
-
half-greatadjective
-
overgreatadjective
-
quasi-greatadjective
-
greatlyadverb
-
overgreatlyadverb
-
quasi-greatlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of great
First recorded before 900; Middle English greet, Old English grēat; cognate with Dutch groot, German gross
Explanation
As an adjective great describes things that are very good, large, or important — like a great movie, a great forest, or a great battle that changed the course of a war. Great can also be a noun: a person who is a legend in his or her field, like Aretha Franklin, a soul great, or Wayne Gretzky — a hockey great who became known as "the Great One." Only a few people qualify for the distinction of being a great — it takes a remarkable talent that continues to awe people long after the person's heyday.
Vocabulary lists containing great
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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.
See Examples For:
Every time someone tried to sell me on how great it was, all I thought was some version of: I saw R.E.M.,
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
He says E-Day will provide a "great foundation" for future games in the series, and insists "the next game will not take nearly as long" to make.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
“Growth is great actually — it’s doing well — but the share price is really weak, and so there’s a lot of negative sentiment,” James said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
“Moneyball” excoriated the bunt, demonstrating in great detail that trading a precious out for an extra 90 feet on the base paths reduces scoring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
A great blow or fall would be the end of what little was left of his life.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Think about that: The most plausible explanation for this series of events is that George Richardson’s father, my great- great-great grandfather, was born aboard a slave ship.
From Slate ● Dec. 19, 2022
Rogers’ great-, great-, great-grandfather was born enslaved and went on to become a successful lawyer who served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1889 to 1890.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 12, 2021
An investigator could then build out a large family tree, first identifying the ancestors the two cousins have in common, such as great- or great-great-grandparents, and then investigating individual branches from those ancestors.
From New York Times ● May 3, 2021
John Jeffries, 74, knew Daniel, his great- grandfather, who died at nearly 100 in 1956.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 31, 2016
Years from now, our descendants will be telling stories about the hero Frank Zhang, their great-, great-, great She poked him in the belly for old times’ sake.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
He wrote essays and conducted oral interviews with UFW greats such as Hartmire and Gilbert Padilla who were essential to the union’s success.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
But, having recovered to reach career-best fitness, the next three years now provide him with the opportunity to cement himself among the all-time greats.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
She has indicated she will remain in the sport, but for now, there is time to savour an extraordinary career, with her place among boxing's greats set in stone.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
A poetic circle: Wynton followed the greats, and posthumously, they followed him back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
For those looking for a good time, the State Street “Stroll,” between Twenty-Sixth and Thirty-Ninth Streets, offered a lively place to listen to the jazz greats and exchange the latest gossip.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
Luria’s target is based on the idea that investors could come to assign a greater value to every dollar that Micron earns.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
But in this case the attention has been much greater, and for good reason.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Shooting “Fjord” in Norway, he developed an even greater appreciation for the local culture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Some cost more to win but promise a greater lifetime value, while others are quick to get and just as easy to lose.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The greater the person's mind and talent, the greater the destruction.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Snow across North America and Eurasia reaches its greatest accumulation in March.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
Making it work was a struggle, but the first neutrino images, captured by an R&D precursor to IceCube, were "the greatest excitement I ever felt about this project," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
“Obviously, he’s just being modest, but this is one of the greatest executives you will ever see in the sport,” Langill said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
"It's still one of the greatest sporting events that neutrals can go to," said Dave.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
It made sense to many nineteenth-century Americans that their greatest inventor would be involved in this new discovery of spirit communications.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
