great

great¹ W1S1 [greıt] adj comparative greater superlative greatest

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1¦(large)¦

2¦(excellent)¦

3¦(important)¦

4¦(generous)¦

5¦(extremely skilful)¦

6¦(big)¦

7¦(doing something a lot)¦

8 great big

9 to a greater or lesser extent

10 be no great shakes

11 be going great guns

12¦(bad)¦

13¦(animal/bird/plant etc)¦

14 the great outdoors

15 great minds (think alike)

16 the greater good

17 the great and the good

18 the great apes

19 the great divide

20 Greater London/Los Angeles/Manchester etc

21 huge/enormous great

22 Great Scott!/Great Heavens!

23 great with child

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[: Old English;]

1.) ¦(LARGE)¦ [usually before noun]

very large in amount or degree

▪ The movie was a great success.

▪ The news came as possibly the greatest shock of my life.

▪ The paintings cost a great deal (=a lot) of money.

▪ John always takes great care over his work.

▪ It gives me great pleasure (=I am very pleased) to introduce tonight's speaker.

▪ It's a great pity that none of his poems survive.

▪ The temptation was too great to resist.

see usage note ↑big¹

2.) ¦(EXCELLENT)¦

especially spoken

a) very good

= ↑wonderful, fantastic ↑fantastic

▪ The weather here is great.

▪ It's great to be home.

▪ a great day out for all the family

sound/taste/smell/feel etc great

▪ I worked out this morning and I feel great.

▪ You look great in that dress.

great for doing sth

▪ Email's great for keeping in touch.

the great thing about sb/sth

(=the very good thing about someone or something)

▪ The great thing about Alex is that he's always willing to explain things to you.

3.) ¦(IMPORTANT)¦

a) [usually before noun]

important or having a lot of influence

▪ one of the greatest scientific achievements of our time

▪ What makes a novel truly great ?

▪ great historical events

b) used in the title of a person or event that was very important in the past

Peter/Catherine etc the Great

▪ I'm reading a biography of Alexander the Great.

▪ the Great Depression

the Great War

old-fashioned (=World War One)

4.) ¦(GENEROUS)¦

very good or generous in a way that people admire

▪ a great humanitarian gesture

5.) ¦(EXTREMELY SKILFUL)¦

famous for being able to do something extremely well

▪ Ali was undoubtedly one of the greatest boxers of all time.

▪ a book about the lives of the great composers

6.) ¦(BIG)¦

written very big

= ↑huge

▪ A great crowd had gathered.

▪ A great iron stove filled half the room.

7.) ¦(DOING SOMETHING A LOT)¦

used to emphasize that someone does something a lot

a great talker/reader/admirer etc

▪ Anthony's a great talker - sometimes you just can't get a word in.

▪ Len was a great believer in the power of positive thinking.

be a great one for doing sth

▪ She's a great one for telling stories about her schooldays.

8.) great big

spoken very big

▪ Get your great big feet off my table!

9.) to a greater or lesser extent

used to emphasize that something is always true, even though it is more true or noticeable in some situations than others

▪ Most companies operate in conditions that are to a greater or lesser extent competitive.

10.) be no great shakes informal

to not be very good, interesting, or skilful

▪ The work's no great shakes, but at least I'm earning.

11.) be going great guns informal

to be doing something extremely well

▪ After a slow start, the Tigers are going great guns.

12.) ¦(BAD)¦

spoken informal used when you are disappointed or annoyed about something

▪ 'Daniel's cancelled the party.' 'Oh great!'

13.) ¦(ANIMAL/BIRD/PLANT ETC)¦

used in the names of some animals or plants, especially when they are bigger than other animals or plants of the same type

▪ the Great Crested Grebe

14.) the great outdoors informal

the countryside, considered as enjoyable and healthy

▪ He had a taste for adventure and the great outdoors.

15.) great minds (think alike)

spoken used humorously when you and another person have had the same idea

16.) the greater good

a general advantage that you can only gain by losing or harming something that is considered less important

▪ Some wars are fought for the greater good.

17.) the great and the good

people who are considered important - used humorously

18.) the great apes

the different types of animals that are similar to large monkeys, considered as a group

▪ Alone of the great apes, the gorilla is not very efficient at using tools.

19.) the great divide

a situation in which there is a big difference between groups in society, areas of a country etc, for example a big difference between their wealth or attitudes

▪ The great divide between north and south seems to be as unbridgeable as ever.

20.) Greater London/Los Angeles/Manchester etc

London, Los Angeles etc and its outer areas

21.) huge/enormous great

BrE spoken used to emphasize how big something is

22.) Great Scott!/Great Heavens!

spoken old-fashioned used to express shock or surprise

23.) great with child

literary very soon to have a baby

>greatness n [U]

▪ a symbol of national greatness

▪ She was destined for greatness.

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HINT sense 1

Big, large, or great?

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great ²

great² n [C usually plural]

a very successful and famous person in a particular sport, profession etc

▪ Jack Nicklaus is one of golf's all-time greats .

▪ I think his show's OK, but I wouldn't call him one of the greats.