01 a. Large in space; of much size; big; immense; enormous; expanded; -- opposed to small and little; as, a great house, ship, farm, plain, dista…
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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.
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2.
Large in number; numerous; as, a great company, multitude, series, etc.
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3.
Long continued; lengthened in duration; prolonged in time; as, a great while; a great interval.
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4.
Superior; admirable; commanding; -- applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings.
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5.
Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty; noble; as, a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, etc.
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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.” — Shak.
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7.
Entitled to earnest consideration; weighty; important; as, a great argument, truth, or principle.
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8.
Pregnant; big (with young).“The ewes great with young.” — Ps. lxxviii. 71.
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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.” — Shak.
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10.
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.(Genealogy)
Phrases & compounds
Great bear —
the constellation Ursa Major.
Great cattle —
all manner of cattle except sheep and yearlings.
Great charter —
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.
Great guns —
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 organ —
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 —
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 —
The principal seal of a kingdom or state.
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).