great
adjective
unusually or comparatively large in size or dimensions.
great
American
[greyt]
/ 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:
“The ranchers are great; they’re my people. I love the ranchers,” he told reporters.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
“All rising to great place is by a winding stair,” the lawyer-politician Francis Bacon wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Many of the great sports stories involve overcoming adversity, and Steiner has become a great sports story, which is still being written.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
But such great champions are, of course, born competitors who have insatiable desires to win matches - and Grand Slam trophies.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Clare yelped and lost his balance, tumbling to the floor with a great crash.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
He also is the great- great-grandson of Robert Smalls.
From Reuters ● Oct. 10, 2023
I’ve lived to this age, I’ve seen my seven children grow up, my 21 grandchildren and 65 great- and great-great grandchildren.’
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 5, 2023
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
My great- grandmother, my grandmother, my father — they inspired me.
From New York Times ● Mar. 16, 2021
I can see kids counting backward on their fingers, trying to figure when their grandparents or great- grandparents were born, when they came to America, if they would have made the Neck Cut.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
“Now they just added to that, with maybe the best pitcher in the game, certainly one of the greats in this era.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
It takes over an hour for the whole procession to pass any one spot on the mountain, and they’re all but guaranteed to watch greats such as four-time champion Tadej Pogacar in full flow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
"That's why you have some of the greats in women's sports. If Title IX and women's sports weren't protected, then you wouldn't hear about any type of women in sport."
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Each innings saw two greats of the game master the conditions when few else could, but it was England's who came out on top.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
We’d watch the greats and talk about their style, technique, and interpretation.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
In academia, there is no greater sin than passing off another’s work as one’s own.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
The spending not shown on balance sheets is even greater.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Adding the freezing step allowed the researchers to achieve much greater nonlinear effects inside the fiber.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
They are mainly designed to persuade multinationals away from making everything in China and Asia, and at the very least consider moving to North America, with hopes of greater investment in the U.S.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026
The losses on subprime loans would be far, far greater.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Mice with the greatest brain hyperactivity when they were young later developed the most severe memory problems.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
By passing between the central defenders, Spurs were able to shift Hoffenheim's shape left to right, even if the distances they move were not the greatest.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
This explains why my brain reflexively associated Ritchson’s latest work in a movie classic cinema buffs would likely dismiss as trash, with one of the greatest performers of early 20th century cinema.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
That would be truly remarkable — and would offer the greatest one-way bet in financial history.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
“Put your hair in the front like this in the portrait. Undo the braids and leave it loose. A woman’s hair is her greatest adornment, a way to present femininity without being immodest.”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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.
