great
adjective
unusually or comparatively large in size or dimensions.
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greit.
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:
“Will we actually be able to build data centers in as great a scale as the market thinks? If we cannot, that will be enough to take down this AI trade,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
It’s a really small hole-in-the-wall place with great food.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday that "it's a great result for Canada" and he is "thrilled that Albertans have chosen unity".
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
This is another place where a behavior gap has become apparent: There are a great many more workplaces that offer advice to their employees, but very little uptake of that advice.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
“I’m Kiki and this is Elora Greer—or EG because I loaded her up with a mouthful of a name. She gives great cuddles,” Kiki said.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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
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
I think about my great- and great-great-grandparents and all those early Buttles.
From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor
Buttler is England's best white-ball batter of all-time, while Brook is on the way to being one of their greats.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
To mark its 50th anniversary, some of the costumes worn by those acting greats are on display.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
“The greats aren’t perfect. But they do learn from their mistakes.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
A poetic circle: Wynton followed the greats, and posthumously, they followed him back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Faded posters of basketball greats from the 1970s, guys like John “Hondo” Havlicek and Walt “Clyde” Frazier, adorned the walls.
From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben
Haines was a vocal champion for greater climate action, better rural healthcare, and help for struggling small businesses.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
The greater accumulation was accompanied by evidence that the blood-brain barrier had become leaky.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026
War in Ukraine, war in the Persian Gulf, growing stress in the American alliance system, greater cohesion among America’s opponents, social unease about artificial intelligence: 2026 won’t go down in history as a calm year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
Moore said things were improving, with greater availability of early intervention in the community, reducing the need for detox.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
The farther away a planet, the greater its orbital period.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
And the superteam springing up to challenge the Knicks’ supremacy exists only because the greatest player of his generation is willing to play on the cheap.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
Areas shown in yellow had the greatest impact on predictions.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
“It’s ‘Dedication Night’ and we are dancing a Viennese waltz to ‘Unchained Melody’ by the Righteous Brothers, the greatest, most romantic song ever.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
"That's when you have the greatest opportunity to capture the attention of active buyers," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
Only the day before, he confided to a friend that he “will have the fortune of receiving the greatest honor that can be given to a solider, that of dying for his country.”
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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