📒 very good or pleasant
- He's a great bloke.
- What a great goal!
- We had a great time in Madrid.
📒 much more than average in degree or quantity
- This is a matter of great importance.
- The lack of clean drinking water is of great concern.
- The concert had been a great success.
📒 very large; much bigger than average in size or quantity
- A great crowd had gathered.
- People were arriving in great numbers.
- The great majority of (= most) people seem to agree with this view.
📒 used to emphasize an adjective of size or quality
- There was a great big pile of books on the table.
- He cut himself a great thick slice of cake.
- There's a great big hole in this sleeve.
📒 extremely good in ability or quality and therefore admired by many people
- Gary Kasparov, undoubtedly the greatest chess player of all time
- He has been described as the world's greatest violinist.
- Sherlock Holmes, the great detective
📒 important and impressive
- The wedding was a great occasion.
- This is a great day for the city of Chicago.
- The great thing is to get it done quickly.
📒 having high status or a lot of influence
- the great powers (= important and powerful countries)
- We can make this country great again.
- Alexander the Great
📒 in a very good state of physical or mental health
- She seemed in great spirits (= very cheerful).
- I feel great today.
- I don’t feel too great.
📒 able to do something well
📒 very suitable or useful for something
- great for doing something This gadget's great for opening jars.
- great for something Try this cream—it's great for spots.
📒 used when you are emphasizing a particular description of somebody/something
- We are great friends.
- I've never been a great reader (= I do not read much).
- She's a great talker, isn't she?
📒 added to words for family members to show a further stage in relationship
- my great-aunt (= my father’s or mother’s aunt)
- her great-grandson (= the grandson of her son or daughter)
- my great-great-grandfather (= the grandfather of my grandfather)
📒 used in the names of animals or plants that are larger than similar kinds
📒 used with the name of a city to describe an area that includes the centre of the city and a large area all round it
📒 to be doing something quickly and successfully
- Work is going great guns now.
📒 to be better or more effective as a group than you would think just by looking at the individual members of the group
- The team is greater than the sum of its parts.
📒 to do something a lot; to enjoy something
- He's never been a great one for keeping in touch.
- You're a great one for quizzes, aren't you?
📒 to be not very good, efficient, suitable, etc.
📒 much; a lot
- She's feeling a good deal better.
- We don't see them a great deal (= often) these days.
- They spent a great deal of money.
📒 people who are very successful, admired and respected
- Universities around the world award honorary degrees to the great and the good.
📒 of all sizes or types
- all creatures great and small
📒 used to refer to where a particular person is imagined to go when they die or a thing when it is no longer working, similar to the place they were connected with on earth
- Their pet rabbit had gone to the great rabbit hutch in the sky.
📒 used to say that you and another person must both be very clever because you have had the same idea or agree about something
📒 something large and successful often begins in a very small way
📒 to put a lot of effort into doing something
- The couple went to great pains to keep their plans secret.
📒 to do something very carefully
- He always takes great pains with his lectures.