Meaning of great In English

• 0 large in amount, size, or degree:

  • an enormous great hole

  • The issue is of great importance to voters.

  • The improvement in water standards over the last 50 years has been very great.

  • A great many people would agree.

  • The great majority of (= almost all) people would agree.

  • formal It gives us great pleasure to announce the engagement of our daughter Maria.

  • formal It is with great sorrow that I inform you of the death of our director.

  • I have great sympathy for you.

  • I spent a great deal of time there.

  • a Great Dane (= large type of dog)

  • Catherine the Great

  • the Great Wall of China

  • the Great Bear (= group of stars)

  • X must be equal to or greater than 10.

• 1 famous, powerful, or important as one of a particular type:

  • a great politician/leader/artist/man/woman

  • This is one of Rembrandt's greatest paintings.

  • Who do you think is the greatest modern novelist?

• 2 extreme:

  • great success/difficulty

• 3 very good:

  • a great idea

  • We had a great time last night at the party.

  • It's great to see you after all this time!

  • "I'll lend you the car if you like." "Great! Thanks a lot!"

  • "What's your new teacher like?" "Oh, he's great."

  • "How are you feeling now?" "Great."

  • Oh great ! That's all I need - more bills!

• 4 used to emphasize the meaning of another word:

  • a great big spider

  • a great long queue

  • You great idiot!

  • Pat's a great friend of mine.

• 5 a famous person in a particular area of activity:

  • former tennis great Arthur Ashe

  • Woody Allen, one of the all-time greats of the cinema

• 6 used with a word for a family member to mean one generation away from that member:

  • your great-grandmother (= the grandmother of one of your parents)

  • your great-grandson (= the grandson of your child)

• 7 large or unusually large in amount or degree:

  • the Great Lakes

  • He went on to great success as an actor.

  • There was a great deal of (= a lot of) excitement in the classroom before lunch.

• 8 important, powerful, or famous:

  • a great president

  • a great athlete

• 9 very good or very effective; excellent:

  • We had a great time.

  • She has a great voice.

  • This stuff is great for cleaning windows.

• 10 a famous person in a particular area of activity:

  • This sports facility is named after the tennis great Arthur Ashe.

• 11 used with a word for a family member, such as grandmother, to mean one generation older than that family member:

  • great-grandmother