Link Centre Dictionary

great

UK/ˈɡɹɛjt/ US/ˈɡɹeɪt/ very common informal uk

adjective

1.

relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind

  • “a great juicy steak”
  • “a great multitude”
  • “the great auk”
  • “a great old oak”
  • “a great ocean liner”
  • “a great delay”
Similar
2.

more than usual

  • “great expectations”
  • “great worry”
Similar
3.

(used of persons) standing above others in character or attainment or reputation

  • “our distinguished professor”
  • “an eminent scholar”
  • “a great statesman”
Synonyms
Similar
4.

of major significance or importance

  • “a great work of art”
  • “Einstein was one of the outstanding figures of the 20th centurey”
Synonyms
Similar
5.

remarkable or out of the ordinary in degree or magnitude or effect

  • “a great crisis”
  • “had a great stake in the outcome”
Similar
6.

very good

  • “he did a bully job”
  • “a neat sports car”
  • “had a great time at the party”
  • “you look simply smashing”
Synonyms
Similar
7.

of things that make you feel sad

  • “sad news”
  • “she doesn”
  • “;”
  • “;”
Synonyms
Similar
8.

marked by active interest and enthusiasm

  • “an avid sports fan”
  • “a great walker”
  • “an eager beaver”
Synonyms
Similar
9.

in an advanced stage of pregnancy

  • “was big with child”
  • “was great with child”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

From Middle English greet, grete (“great, large”), from Old English grēat (“big, massive; tall; thick; coarse”), from Proto-West Germanic *graut, from Proto-Germanic *grautaz (“coarse, crude; big, large”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd-, *gʰer- (“to rub; to stroke; to grind; to remove”). Cognates Cognate with Scots graat, great, greet (“great”), Yola graat (“great”), North Frisian grat, groot, grot, grut, gråt, gurt (“big, great, large”), Saterland Frisian groot (“big, large”), West Frisian grut (“big, great, large”), Alemannic German groß, gruuss (“very large”), Central Franconian jruß (“big, great, large”), Cimbrian gròas, groaz (“big, great, large”), Dutch and German Low German groot (“big, great, large”), German gross, groß (“big, large”), Limburgish grut, gruët (“big, large; grand; tall; adult; pregnant”), Luxembourgish grouss (“big, great, large”), Mòcheno groas (“big, great, large”), Vilamovian grus, grūs (“big, great, large”), Yiddish גרויס (groys, “big, large”); also Latin grandis (“big, great, large”), Greek χρίω (chrío, “to anoint”), Albanian grind (“to brawl, fight”), Latvian grauds (“grain”), Lithuanian grūdas (“grain”), Czech hrouda, hruda (“clod”), Macedonian г...

Phrases

  • a great deal
  • a great many
  • behind every great man is a great woman
  • behind every great man there stands a woman
  • death is the great leveller
  • double great primer
  • go great guns
  • go to great lengths

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.