| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  gr t |
| ADJECTIVE: | Inflected forms: great·er, great·est
1. Very large in size. 2. Larger in size than others of the same kind. 3. Large in quantity or number: A great throng awaited us. See synonyms at large. 4. Extensive in time or distance: a great delay. 5. Remarkable or outstanding in magnitude, degree, or extent: a great crisis. 6. Of outstanding significance or importance: a great work of art. 7. Chief or principal: the great house on the estate. 8. Superior in quality or character; noble: “For he was great, ere fortune made him so” (John Dryden). 9. Powerful; influential: one of the great nations of the West. 10. Eminent; distinguished: a great leader. 11. Grand; aristocratic. 12. Informal Enthusiastic: a great lover of music. 13. Informal Very skillful: great at algebra. 14. Informal Very good; first-rate: We had a great time at the dance. 15. Being one generation removed from the relative specified. Often used in combination: a great-granddaughter. 16. Archaic Pregnant. | | NOUN: | 1. Inflected forms: pl. greats or great
One that is great: a composer considered among the greats. 2. Music a. A division of most pipe organs, usually containing the most powerful ranks of pipes. b. A similar division of other organs. | | ADVERB: | Informal Very well: got along great with the teacher. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English grete, from Old English gr at, thick, coarse. | | OTHER FORMS: | great ly —ADVERB
greatness —NOUN
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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