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).

---

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

---

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

Figures show that, where age was recorded, more than half of all suspects for motorcycle thefts in Great Britain last year were under the age of 18.

From BBC • May 19, 2026

He represented Great Britain at the Olympics as a rower after competing in the university Boat Race against Oxford as a student.

From Barron's • May 18, 2026

Most historians are concentrating on the birth itself, when 13 disparate colonies along the east coast of North America declared their intention to separate from Great Britain.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026

Glyphosate remains approved for use in Great Britain until December, after ministers extended its authorisation to give regulators time to review new data.

From BBC • May 6, 2026

For their preliminary, the boys from Washington were assigned to race against France, Japan, Czechoslovakia, and the crew they were most concerned about, Great Britain.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown