unusually or comparatively large in size or dimensions.
A great fire destroyed nearly half the city.
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.
highly significant or consequential; important.
the great issues in American history.
a great inventor.
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.
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.
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.
(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.
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
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 )
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.
First recorded before 900; Middle English greet, Old English grēat; cognate with Dutch groot, German gross
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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hiddleston notes that “one great gift of Pompeii is that the Romans didn’t have paper, so the walls, the columns, the houses, the public buildings are covered in writing: deeds, business contracts, advertisements, gossip, doodles.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
"I was floating like a dead body, and after great difficulty managed to raise my head slightly."
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
It could be an immediate return to the game for one of the all-time great managers.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Say adios to Argentina: For a great number of soccer fans, Argentina evoked the feeling of getting away with something.
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026
Clare gathered himself from the floor and, with great effort against the howling wind, pushed his door shut.
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
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
My great- grandmother, my grandmother, my father — they inspired me.
From New York Times ● Mar. 16, 2021
The great-grandfather was the old man who lived with them, as the river-pirate great- uncle was the old man who lived with us.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
Yet the lasting images from both tournaments are of all-time greats such as Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi dancing on the field.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Argentina players also sang chants which referenced the Falklands and Argentina greats Maradona and Lionel Messi following their dramatic 3-2 win over Egypt in the last 16.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The game also saw one of football's modern greats put away a penalty.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
While much of the source material comes from elsewhere, the cumulative mood is extremely personal to an artist who has spent his life helping the greats find true expression.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
“Can’t one of my sister’s prized greats tell us who Augustus is?”
From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Nolan keeps them at a much greater distance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
The new proposal offers local authorities greater involvement in the firm, similar to the relationship between United Utilities and Greater Manchester agreed when Burnham was the city's mayor.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
“This transaction is the natural next phase: it gives our shareholders ownership in an investment-grade company with greater scale and diversification, and the balance sheet to sustain long-term returns,” BlueNord Chief Executive Euan Shirlaw said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
"The main obstacle is the different standards and regulations between African countries. With AfCFTA, we could have greater harmonisation," said Yattabare.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
Or when Henry Lee flooded him with apocalyptic premonitions if assumption somehow were to pass, he counseled patience and greater trust in the wisdom of Congress.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
One of the greatest obstacles was quantum entanglement.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
The pro-European Union conservative leader was to meet Polgar, who is considered the greatest woman chess player of all time, on Monday to ask if she would take the post.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
We know he will have lots of other World Cups and we believe he will become the greatest.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Argentina’s Lionel Messi, 39, is arguably the greatest player in World Cup history, having played more games, scored more goals and collected more assists than anyone who has gone before him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Quite obviously it was the greatest day of his life.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
