great

adjective \ ˈgrāt , Southern also ˈgre(ə)t \

|Updated on: 5 Aug 2018

Examples: great in a Sentence

Definition of great

1 a : notably large in size : huge

all creatures great and small

b : of a kind characterized by relative largeness —used in plant and animal names

the great horned owl

c : elaborate, ample

great detail

2 a : large in number or measure : numerous

great multitudes

b : predominant

the great majority

3 : remarkable in magnitude, degree, or effectiveness

great bloodshed

4 : full of emotion

great with anger

5 a : eminent, distinguished

a great poet

b : chief or preeminent over others —often used in titles

Lord Great Chamberlain

c : aristocratic, grand

great ladies

6 : long continued

a great while

7 : principal, main

a reception in the great hall

8 : more remote in a family relationship by a single generation than a specified relative

great-grandfather

9 : markedly superior in character or quality; especially : noble

great of soul

10 a : remarkably skilled

great at tennis

b : marked by enthusiasm : keen

great on science fiction

11 —used as a generalized term of approval

had a great time

it was just great

—

greatness

noun

See great defined for English-language learners

See great defined for kids

Examples of great in a Sentence

all creatures great and small
The project will require a great amount of time and money.
The building was restored at great expense.
a great quantity of fish
The low cost of these products gives them great appeal.
There is a very great need for reform.
They're in no great hurry to finish.
There is a great demand for his services.
an actress of great charm
Is there any love greater than that between parent and child?

Recent Examples of great from the Web

But perhaps his greatest assignment will be to repair the broken corporate culture that seems to be at the core of all Uber’s troubles.

— deb gabor, Fortune, "Why Uber Was Right Not to Hire a Female CEO," 30 Aug. 2017
Prior to Houston’s floods, the Sacramento region was often described as the U.S. metropolitan area at second-greatest risk of a devastating flood, after New Orleans.

— ryan sabalow, sacbee, "Think Harvey-like flooding couldn’t happen to Sacramento? Think again.," 30 Aug. 2017
While most residents were satisfied with their interactions with police, white respondents reported greater satisfaction than their non-white counterparts.

— jsonline.com, "Trust damaged between Milwaukee police and community, Department of Justice draft report says," 30 Aug. 2017
Photograph courtesy of Barcade Once named one of America’s best bars by Esquire, Barcade boasts seven locations around greater New York, but this will be their first venture outside the I-95 corridor.

— brittany martin, Los Angeles Magazine, "Barcade Is Opening in L.A., and Our Joystick Thumbs Are Trembling," 30 Aug. 2017
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.

— scott spillman, New Republic, "War, Civil War, or Revolution?," 30 Aug. 2017
Indonesia joins Bolivia, Argentina and other countries that have sought a greater say in the resources under their soil.

— jon emont, New York Times, "Freeport to Give Indonesia a Majority Stake in Its Grasberg Mine," 29 Aug. 2017
Those students who ended up at better schools made greater academic gains than those who did not, and again, the effect was most pronounced for black and Hispanic students in poverty.

— monique judge, The Root, "Closing Low-Performing Schools More Likely to Negatively Affect Black and Hispanic Students: Report," 29 Aug. 2017
Now, as one can see, there’s greater flexibility among journalists.

— The Hive, "How Silicon Valley Has Changed Hurricane Coverage," 28 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'great.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of great

Middle English grete, from Old English grēat; akin to Old High German grōz large

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

great Synonyms

Phrases

out of this world, too much;

great

adverb

Definition of great

: in a great manner : well

Things are going great.

See great defined for English-language learners

Examples of great in a Sentence

We had some problems at first, but now things are going just great.
Keep up the good work. You're doing great!

Recent Examples of great from the Web

Steam and boiling water work great on these masses of seedlings.

— jeff lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, "Here’s what’s eating your currant bushes and ‘spitting’ on your wild roses," 13 July 2018
Pop into Uphill’s new storefront in Ballard to pick up this gorgeous all-leather camera case — that would also work great as the world’s most handsome diaper bag.

— sara kennedy, The Seattle Times, "Father’s Day gifts for dads with Seattle style," 8 June 2018
Football did great, basketball did great, soccer did great, cross country won.

— james weber, Cincinnati.com, "Ryle, Covington Catholic lead the way in 3A regional track," 13 May 2018
That has been fixed with the latest software updates, and photos do look great now.

— vjeran pavic, The Verge, "Parrot Anafi drone review: flying high, but falling short," 2 July 2018
The former France great went on to win three straight Champions League titles as coach before quitting last month.

— tales azzoni, chicagotribune.com, "New Spain coach Hierro: 'I couldn't have said no'," 13 June 2018
Pérez says Tania is doing great for an inexperienced mother, and the cubs appear healthy.

— elaina zachos, National Geographic, "These Are the First Jaguars Born in This Argentinian Wetland in Over a Century," 11 June 2018
The plan was going great until her husband received the doorbell notification on his phone.

— meghan overdeep, Southern Living, "Adorable Amazon Deliveryman Helps Wife Hide Packages from Husband," 7 June 2018
For Zidane, victory in Ukraine puts the former France great in an elite field alongside Carlo Ancelotti and Bob Paisley as a three-time European Cup winner.

— rob harris, courant.com, "Bale's Scissor-Kick Gives Madrid 3rd Straight European Title," 26 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of great

see ¹great

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

great Synonyms

Synonyms

agreeably, charmingly, delectably, deliciously, delightfully, dreamily, enchantingly, enjoyably, favorably, felicitously, fetchingly, gloriously, gratifyingly, nicely, palatably, pleasantly, pleasingly, pleasurably, prettily, satisfyingly, splendidly, sweetly, swimmingly, welcomely, well, winningly;

Antonyms

badly, disagreeably, ill, unpleasantly;

Near Antonyms

abominably, appallingly, awfully, dreadfully, horrendously, horribly, horridly, shockingly, sickeningly, terribly, vilely;

annoyingly, disgustingly, distressingly, irritatingly, vexingly;

Related Words

finely, grandly, magnificently;

advantageously, helpfully;

blessedly, fortunately, happily, luckily;

excellently, superbly;

marvelously, sensationally, wonderfully;

attractively, beautifully, handsomely;

appealingly, appetizingly, enticingly, invitingly, temptingly;

great

noun

Definition of great

plural great or greats

: an outstandingly superior or skillful person

a tribute to the greats of baseball

See great defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of great from the Web

This was high-decibel, high-stakes, high-quality tennis between two of the greats right from the get-go, beginning with an 18-point, six-deuce game that last 15 minutes and felt truly pivotal.

— howard fendrich, BostonGlobe.com, "Novak Djokovic outlasts Rafael Nadal in five sets to reach fifth Wimbledon final," 14 July 2018
Tebow, 30, is the sixth member of UF's Ring of Honor, joining former Gators greats Wilber Marshall, Emmitt Smith, Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel and Jack Youngblood.

— jordan mcpherson, miamiherald, "This is the new prestigious honor the Florida Gators have bestowed on Tim Tebow," 11 July 2018
Croatia’s Marin Cilic and Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro are the only other players to swipe a major from Federer and Nadal while those greats were in their primes but haven’t consistently threatened them since.

— andrew lawrence, The Atlantic, "What’s Going on With Novak Djokovic?," 30 June 2018
From boxing greats to basketball stars to Olympic gold medalists in swimming, Louisville high schools have produced numerous great athletes.

— louisville courier journal, The Courier-Journal, "12 of the greatest sports stars who went to high school in Louisville," 20 June 2018
Former track greats Bill Dellinger, Rudy Chapa, Mary Slaney and Pat Tyson will be featured guests at the year's final TrackTown Tuesday, next week at Hayward Field.

— OregonLive.com, "Intensity of feelings about the Hayward project becomes public: Oregon track & field rundown," 1 June 2018
Barry grew up racing in England and became a huge fan of Jim Clark, the Scottish great who won the 1965 Indy 500 and was a dominant Formula 1 racer before he was killed at age 32 during a race in Germany.

— mike bianchi, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Danica Patrick Indy 500 farewell may be coming-out party for Spencer Pigot, her Orlando teammate," 26 May 2018
Regardless of the result on Saturday, the debate as to whether this Real side deserve to be added to the pantheon of greats will continue.

— CNN, "Real Madrid face Liverpool for historic third straight Champions League title," 25 May 2018
An Alabama native who grew up just miles from Muscle Shoals, East’s voice has often been compared on his first two major label albums to the greats who made their name in that hallowed ground.

— Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "The best of Summerfest Day 11: Cheap Trick, Anderson East, Boz Scaggs, Soccer Mommy & more," 8 July 2018