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

Great Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson agonisingly missed out on an ice dance bronze medal at the World Figure Skating Championships after being deducted two points.

From BBC

Great Britain's Josh Kerr will attempt to break the long-standing men's mile world record at the London Diamond League meeting this summer.

From BBC

Great Britain's Georgia Hunter Bell was beaten in the 1500m in Melbourne in her first race since she was crowned women's world indoor champion.

From BBC

Compared with buying a stock portfolio, prediction markets would have been a much cleaner way to hedge against Great Britain leaving the EU by giving direct exposure to the question, “Will Brexit happen?”

From Barron's

"Well, you have Great Britain asking for US cooperation in the cases over there," Massie said.

From BBC