What does "great" mean?
A person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim.
Great
/ˈɡɹeɪt/ adj, adv, intj, noun, slang
adj, adv, intj, noun, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim.
- Grammar: great is listed as adj, adv, intj, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: large, outstanding, beautiful, able.
- Useful contrasts: bad, mediocre, ordinary.
- Usage evidence: You are the great love of my life.
How to use "great"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "great" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "great" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "great" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "great" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "great" is acting as adj, adv, intj, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "large" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "great", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim.
"Newton and Einstein are two of the greats of the history of science."
- 2 a person who has achieved distinction and honor in some field wordnet
- 3 The main division in a pipe organ, usually the loudest division.
- 4 An instance of the word "great" signifying an additional generation in phrases expressing family relationships.
"My three-greats grandmother."
Adjective
- 1 Taking much space; large.
"“[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes like // Here's rattling good luck and roaring good cheer, / With lashings of food and great hogsheads of beer.[…]”"
- 2 Taking much space; large.; Much, more than usual.
"great worry"
- 3 Taking much space; large.; Intensifying a word or expression, used in mild oaths. British, informal
"a dirty great smack in the face"
- 4 Very good; excellent; wonderful; fantastic. informal
"Dinner was great."
- 5 Important, consequential.
"a great dilemma"
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 Involving more generations than the qualified word implies — as many extra generations as repetitions of the word great (from 1510s).
"great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather, great-great-great-grandfather"
- 7 Pregnant; large with young; full of. obsolete, postpositional
"great with child"
- 8 Intimate; familiar. obsolete
"those that are so great with him"
- 9 Arising from or possessing idealism; admirable; commanding; illustrious; eminent.
"a great deed"
- 10 Impressive or striking.
"a great show of wealth"
- 11 Much in use; favoured.
"Poetry was a great convention of the Romantic era."
- 12 Of much talent or achievements.
"a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, writer, etc."
- 13 Doing or exemplifying (a characteristic or pursuit) on a large scale; active or enthusiastic.
"What a great buffoon!"
Adjective
- 1 in an advanced stage of pregnancy wordnet
- 2 excellent wordnet
- 3 of major significance or importance wordnet
- 4 relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind wordnet
- 5 uppercase wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 remarkable or out of the ordinary in degree or magnitude or effect wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Very well (in a very satisfactory manner). informal, not-comparable
"Those mechanical colored pencils work great because they don’t have to be sharpened."
Intj
- 1 Expression of gladness and content about something.
"Great! Thanks for the wonderful work."
- 2 A sarcastic inversion thereof.
"Oh, great! I just dumped all 500 sheets of the manuscript all over and now I have to put them back in order."
Example
"You are the great love of my life."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "great"?
Common synonyms include: large, outstanding, beautiful, able, absolute, abundant.
How do you use "great" in a sentence?
You are the great love of my life.
How do you pronounce "great"?
Pronounced /ˈɡɹeɪt/.
Etymology
From Middle English greet (“great, large”), from Old English grēat (“big, thick, coarse, massive”), from Proto-West Germanic *graut, from Proto-Germanic *grautaz (“big in size, coarse, coarse grained”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd-, *gʰer- (“to rub, grind, remove”). Cognates Cognate with Scots graat, great, greet (“great”), Yola graat (“great”), North Frisian grat, groot, grot, grut, 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”), 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”). Related to grit. Doublet of gross. 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.