adjective
- of much more than ordinary size, extent, volume, etc.; esp.,
- designating a thing or group of things larger than others of the same kind: the great cats are tigers, lions, etc.; the Great Lakes
- large in number, quantity, etc.; numerous: a great company
- long in duration: a great while
- much higher in some quality or degree; much above the ordinary or average; esp.,
- existing in a high degree; intense: a great light, great pain
- very much of a; acting much as (something specified): a great reader
- eminent; distinguished; illustrious; superior: a great playwright
- very impressive or imposing; remarkable: great ceremony
- having or showing nobility of mind, purpose, etc.; grand: a great man, great ideas
- of most importance; main; chief: the great seal
- Informal clever; expert; skillful: usually with at: great at tennis
- ☆ Informal excellent; splendid; fine
- Now Chiefly Dial. pregnant
Origin:
ME grete < OE great, akin to Ger gross, Du groot < IE base *ghrēu-, rub hard over, crumble > grit, Welsh gro, sand: basic sense “coarse, coarsegrained”
noun
a great or distinguished person: usually used in pl.