great Meaning & Definition
What Does Great Mean?
Great is used as an adjective meaning notably large in size. It is also used to mean of a kind characterized by relative largeness. As an adverb, it means in a great manner. As a noun, it means an outstandingly superior or skillful person.
Great: Key Facts
| Part of speech | adjective, adverb, noun |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈgrāt/ |
| Synonyms | eminent, keen and zealous |
| Antonyms | atrocious, awful and execrable |
| Plural | greats |
| Comparative / superlative | greater, greatest |
Great Definition (Adjective)
- notably large in size : huge
all creatures great and small / a great expanse of wilderness
- of a kind characterized by relative largeness
- elaborate, ample
great detail
- large in number or measure
great multitudes / a great quantity of fish / made a great amount of money
- predominant
the great majority
- remarkable in magnitude, degree, or effectiveness
great bloodshed / caused great damage / Things could be a great deal worse. =things could be much worse
- eminent, distinguished
a great poet
- aristocratic, grand
great ladies
- chief or preeminent over others
- markedly superior in character or quality
- noble
great of soul
- remarkably skilled
great at tennis
- marked by enthusiasm : keen
a great admirer / great on science fiction / She's a great one for golf. =she enjoys golf very much
- more remote in a family relationship by a single generation than a specified relative
great-grandfather
- long continued
a great while
- principal, main
a reception in the great hall
- full of emotion
great with anger
Great as an Adverb
- in a great manner : well
Things are going great.
Great as a Noun
- an outstandingly superior or skillful person
a tribute to the greats of baseball
Synonyms of Great
Antonyms of Great
Great in a Sentence
great worry
a dirty great smack in the face
Great Scott!
Dinner was great.
a great dilemma
a great decision
great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather, great-great-great-grandfather
great with child
great with hope
a great deed
a great nature
a great history
a great show of wealth
Poetry was a great convention of the Romantic era.
a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, writer, etc.
What a great buffoon!
He’s not a great one for reading.
a great walker
Great! Thanks for the wonderful work.
Oh, great! I just dumped all 500 sheets of the manuscript all over and now I have to put them back in order.
Newton and Einstein are two of the greats of the history of science.
my three-greats grandmother
Those mechanical colored pencils work great because they don’t have to be sharpened.
My three-greats grandmother.
A great storm is approaching our shores.
the great auk
a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, writer etc.
Alexander the Great
He's not a great one for reading.
You are great at singing.
Those mechanical colored pencils work great because they don't have to be sharpened.
all creatures great and small
a great expanse of wilderness
great detail
great multitudes
a great quantity of fish
made a great amount of money
the great majority
great bloodshed
caused great damage
Things could be a great deal worse. =things could be much worse
a great poet
great ladies
great of soul
great at tennis
a great admirer
great on science fiction
She's a great one for golf. =she enjoys golf very much
great-grandfather
a great while
a reception in the great hall
great with anger
Things are going great.
a tribute to the greats of baseball
this cake is great!
one of the great anthropologists
a great humanitarian
great acts of charity
haven't seen them in a great while
saw a great moose calmly walking through our backyard
she's great on any type of sport that requires endurance
regards global warming as the great issue of the day
a descendant of one of the great families of Philadelphia
the game was going great for the home team
all creatures great and small / a great expanse of wilderness
great multitudes / a great quantity of fish / made a great amount of money
great bloodshed / caused great damage / Things could be a great deal worse. =things could be much worse
a great admirer / great on science fiction / She's a great one for golf. =she enjoys golf very much
Word Forms & Grammar
a great one for
great
great deal
greater
greatest
greats
greatness
greatnesses
great (comparative greater, superlative greatest)
great (plural greats)
great (not comparable)
Words That Rhyme With Great
Origin of Great
Origin 1: Middle English grete, from Old English grēat; akin to Old High German grōz large
Origin 2: see great:1
Origin 3: 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”).
Origin 4: The modern pronunciation shows an irregular change of Early Modern English /ɛː/ to /eɪ/ in the standard language; contrast this with the development of other words such as beat and heat.
First Known Use
before 12th century
1916
Questions People Ask About Great
Is great an adjective or an adverb?
Great is mainly used as an adjective, but it can also be used as an adverb and a noun.
What is another word for great?
You can replace great with words such as eminent, keen and zealous. See the full list of great synonyms and antonyms.
What is the opposite of great?
The opposite of great can be expressed with words like atrocious, awful, execrable and lousy.
What is the plural of great?
The plural of great is greats.
What are the comparative and superlative forms of great?
The comparative form is greater and the superlative form is greatest.