Great
Great (grāt) , adjective
[Old English gret, great, Anglo-Saxon greát; akin to Old Saxon & LG. grōt, Dutch groot, Old High German grōz, German gross. Compare Groat the coin.]
1.
Large in space; of much size; big; immense; enormous; expanded; -- opposed to small and little; as, a great house, ship, farm, plain, distance, length.
2.
Large in number; numerous; as, a great company, multitude, series, etc.
3.
Long continued; lengthened in duration; prolonged in time; as, a great while; a great interval.
4.
Superior; admirable; commanding; -- applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings.
5.
Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty; noble; as, a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, etc.
6.
Holding a chief position; elevated: lofty: eminent; distinguished; foremost; principal; as, great men; the great seal; the great marshal, etc.
He doth object I am too great of birth.
7.
Entitled to earnest consideration; weighty; important; as, a great argument, truth, or principle.
8.
Pregnant; big (with young).
The ewes great with young.
9.
More than ordinary in degree; very considerable in degree; as, to use great caution; to be in great pain.
We have all
Great cause to give great thanks.
10.
(Genealogy) Older, younger, or more remote, by single generation; -- often used before grand to indicate one degree more remote in the direct line of descent; as, great-grandfather (a grandfather's or a grandmother's father), great-grandson, etc.
Collocations (19)
Great bear Astron. , the constellation Ursa Major.
Great cattle Law , all manner of cattle except sheep and yearlings. — Wharton
Great charter (Eng. Hist.) , Magna Charta.
Great circle of a sphere , a circle the plane of which passes through the center of the sphere.
Great circle sailing , the process or art of conducting a ship on a great circle of the globe or on the shortest arc between two places.
Great go , the final examination for a degree at the University of Oxford, England; -- called also greats. — T. Hughes
Great guns (Nautical) , See under Gun.
The Great Lakes , the large fresh-water lakes (Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario) which lie on the northern borders of the United States.
Great master , Same as Grand master, under Grand.
Great organ (Music) , the largest and loudest of the three parts of a grand organ (the others being the choir organ and the swell, and sometimes the pedal organ or foot keys), It is played upon by a separate keyboard, which has the middle position.
The great powers , in modern diplomacy, Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Russia, and Italy.
Great primer , See under Type.
Great scale Mus. , the complete scale; -- employed to designate the entire series of musical sounds from lowest to highest.
Great sea , the Mediterranean sea. In Chaucer both the Black and the Mediterranean seas are so called.
Great seal , (a) The principal seal of a kingdom or state. (b) In Great Britain, the lord chancellor (who is custodian of this seal); also, his office.
Great tithes , See under Tithes.
The great , the eminent, distinguished, or powerful.
The Great Spirit , among the North American Indians, their chief or principal deity.
To be great , to be intimate or familiar (with him). — Bacon
Great , noun
The whole; the gross; as, a contract to build a ship by the great.