Dictionary — ontologydriven

great en · ADJ

Pronunciation

grĕt (Southern-US, archaic)
/ɡɹɛːt/ Early Modern English; 16ᵗʰ–17ᵗʰ centuries
/ˈɡɾet/ (Scotland)
(General-American) audio
[ˈɡɹeːt] (Canada)
[ˈɡɹɛːt] Ottawa Valley
/ˈɡɹeɪt/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
Early Modern English; 16ᵗʰ–17ᵗʰ centuries
grīt 18ᵗʰ century
/ˈɡɹɛt/
/ˈɡɹæɪt/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
(US) audio
/ɡɹiːt/ 18ᵗʰ century
grāt
/ˈɡɹɛjt/ (British, Southern, Standard)
/ˈɡɾeːt/ (Wales) without the pane–pain merger
[ˈɡɹeːt] Ottawa Valley

Etymology

From Middle English greet, grete (“great, large”), from Old English grēat (“big, massive; tall; thick; coarse”), from Proto-West Germanic *graut, from Proto-Germanic *grautaz (“coarse, crude; big, large”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd-, *gʰer- (“to rub; to stroke; to grind; to remove”). Cognates Cognate with Scots graat, great, greet (“great”), Yola graat (“great”), North Frisian grat, groot, grot, grut, gråt, gurt (“big, great, large”), Saterland Frisian groot (“big, large”), West Frisian grut (“big, great, large”), Alemannic German groß, gruuss (“very large”), Central Franconian jruß (“big, great, large”), Cimbrian gròas, groaz (“big, great, large”), Dutch and German Low German groot (“big, great, large”), German gross, groß (“big, large”), Limburgish grut, gruët (“big, large; grand; tall; adult; pregnant”), Luxembourgish grouss (“big, great, large”), Mòcheno groas (“big, great, large”), Vilamovian grus, grūs (“big, great, large”), Yiddish גרויס (groys, “big, large”); also Latin grandis (“big, great, large”), Greek χρίω (chrío, “to anoint”), Albanian grind (“to brawl, fight”), Latvian grauds (“grain”), Lithuanian grūdas (“grain”), Czech hrouda, hruda (“clod”), Macedonian грутка (grutka, “clod, clump, lump”), Polish gruda (“clod, lump; frozen ground; mud fever, scratches”), Russian гру́да (grúda, “clod, heap, mass, pile”), Serbo-Croatian гру̏да, гру̏два, grȕda, grȕdva (“clod, lump; snowball”), Armenian կորկոտ (korkot, “groats of wheat or barley”), Sanskrit घर्षति (gharṣati, “to brush, polish, rub”). Related to grit. Doublet of gross. The modern pronunciation shows an irregular change of Early Modern English /ɛː/ to /eɪ/ in the standard language; contrast this with the development of other words such as beat and heat.

Meanings

Taking much space; large.
- ‘Children crawled over each other like little grey worms in the gutters,’ he said. ‘The only red things about them were their buttocks and they were raw. Their faces looked as if snails had slimed on them and their mothers were like great sick beasts whose byres had never been cleared.[…]’ 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 7, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
- Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements. 2013 July 19, Timothy Garton Ash, “Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 18:
- “[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes like // Here's rattling good luck and roaring good cheer, / With lashings of food and great hogsheads of beer.[…]” 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
(of an abstract noun) Taking much space; large. ▸ Much, more than usual.
- The first half of this century has been referred to as the golden age of medicine. To me it seems more probable that we are on the threshold of a much greater age. 1951 March, John W. Cline, “The Future of Medicine”, in Northwest Medicine, volume 50, number 3, Portland, Ore.: Northwest Medical Publishing Association, page 165:
- great worry
- “We are engaged in a great work, a treatise on our river fortifications, perhaps? But since when did army officers afford the luxury of amanuenses in this simple republic?” 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
(UK, informal) Taking much space; large. ▸ Intensifying a word or expression, used in mild oaths.
- a dirty great smack in the face
- Great Scott!
(informal) Very good; excellent; wonderful; fantastic.
- Dinner was great.
- He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights,[…], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts. 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
Important, consequential.
- So the King made Daniel a great man […] 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Daniel 2:48:
- a great dilemma
- I’ll cover fiscal theory and the recent inflation (again!) of course, but also more recent thoughts on the great puzzle of monetary economics, how central banks can lower inflation by raising nominal interest rates. 2025 September 30, John H. Cochrane, “Brunner lecture”, in The Grumpy Economist, archived from the original on 14 Jan 2026:
- The Dawn is over-caſt, the Morning low’rs, And heavily in Clouds brings on the Day, The great, th’ important Day; big with the Fate Of Cato and of Rome. 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 1:
- The methods for finding parameters that are commonly used in RBC models include using coefficients that come from microeconomic studies for parameters like the time discount factor, rental income over total income for the parameters of a Cobb-Douglas production function, and adjusting parameters so that stationary state value values approach those of the great ratios such as consumption over income and capital over income. 2008, George McCandless, The ABCs of RBCs, Harvard University Press, page 2:
- a great decision
- Racism courses through Donald Trump’s blood and is one of the foundational principles of his presidency. Which is why, when faced with one of the greatest uprisings against police brutality this nation has seen, a movement led by black people around the country and joined by all other people of color and white people as well, his only policy solution is to start a race war. 2020 June 2, David S. Cohen, “Donald Trump Is Trying to Start a Race War”, in Rolling Stone, archived from the original on 03 Jun 2020:
(qualifier:qualifying nouns of family relationship) Involving more generations than the qualified word implies — as many extra generations as repetitions of the word great (from 1510s).
- great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather, great-great-great-grandfather
(followed by ‘with’, obsolete, postpositional) Pregnant; large with young; full of.
- the ewes great with young 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 78:71:
- great with child
- great with hope
(obsolete, qualifier:except with ‘friend’ and similar words such as ‘mate’; ‘buddy’; except with ‘friend’ and similar words such as ‘mate’; ‘buddy’) Intimate; familiar.
- those that are so great with him 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Followers and Friends”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:
(qualifier:applied to actions; thoughts and feelings; applied to actions; thoughts and feelings) Arising from or possessing idealism; admirable; commanding; illustrious; eminent.
- a great deed
- a great history
- a great nature
Impressive or striking.
- a great show of wealth
Much in use; favoured.
- Poetry was a great convention of the Romantic era.
(qualifier:applied to persons) Of much talent or achievements.
- a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, writer, etc.
Doing or exemplifying (a characteristic or pursuit) on a large scale; active or enthusiastic.
- a great walker
- He’s not a great one for reading.
- What a great buffoon!

Forms

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
greatest	Degree=Sup		lexicographic
gurt		UK, West-Country, alternative	lexicographic
geet		Geordie, alternative	lexicographic
gert		alternative	lexicographic
girt		alternative	lexicographic
greater	Degree=Cmp		lexicographic

Antonyms

mediocre (antonym(s) of “uncommonly gifted”) · ordinary (antonym(s) of “uncommonly gifted”) · tiny (antonym(s) of “very big, large scale”)

Deriveds

Descendants

grêt

Synonyms

over- · giga- · super- · arch- · ultra- · supra- · grt · -zilla · macro- · grand · mega- · gr8 · uber- · hyper-

Translations (312)

mhn groas (very big, large scale) · la magnus (important title) · hi बड़ा (very big, large scale) · sa मह (very big, large scale) · chr ᎡᏆ (very big, large scale) · it grande (very big, large scale) · sh вѐлик (very big, large scale) · sa महत् (very big, large scale) · ja すばらしい (very good) · hy մեծ (important title) · sk veľký (very big, large scale) · gl grande (very big, large scale) · mk голем (very big, large scale) · cmn 不錯 /不错 (very good) · lv izcils (very good) · ota قوجه (very big, large scale) · it magnifico (very good) · egy aA:a-A-Y1V (very big, large scale) · af groot (very big, large scale) · fo stórur (very big, large scale) · yue 大 (very big, large scale) · ko 크다 (very big, large scale) · grc μέγας (very big, large scale) · ja 凄い (very good) · la grandis (very good) · ar رَائِع (very good) · he נהדר (very good) · fi valtava (very big, large scale) · io granda (very big, large scale) · ka დიდი (very big, large scale) · bg голя́м (very big, large scale) · pt enorme (very big, large scale) · lt nuostabus (very good) · uk прекра́сний (very good) · tr büyük (very big, large scale) · pl wielki (very big, large scale) · ky улуу (very big, large scale) · pt grandioso (important title) · de schön (very good) · ru чуде́сный (very good) · ru большо́й (very big, large scale) · es chachi (very good) · ko 훌륭하다 (very good) · fr grand (uncommonly gifted) · mrw basar (very big, large scale) · da fantastisk (very good) · pdt groot (nds) (very big, large scale) · bg вели́к (important title) · es chanchi (very good) · is stór (very big, large scale) · cs veliký (very big, large scale) · eo bonega (very good) · as আজো (family relationship) · vi vĩ đại (very good) · cmn 棒 (very good) · pt fantástico (very good) · km ព្រះមហាវីរក្សត្រ (important title) · ka დიდი (important title) · it magno (important title) · sco muckle (very big, large scale) · arc רַבָּא (very big, large scale) · es grande (very big, large scale) · sk skvelý (very good) · sl velik (very big, large scale) · cs skvělý (very good) · hu nagyszerű (very good) · ckb مەزن (very big, large scale) · fi loistava (very good) · cmn 偉大 /伟大 (very big, large scale) · cu великъ (very big, large scale) · es macanudo (very good) · sq e mathe (very big, large scale) · lv dižs (very big, large scale) · ru великоле́пный (very good) · fa والا (uncommonly gifted) · ko 대단하다 (very good) · ka შესანიშნავი (very good) · fi suurenmoinen (very good) · ko 근사하다 (very good) · he נפלא (very good) · ru замеча́тельный (very good) · cmn 大帝 (important title) · qu hatun (very big, large scale) · bar grous (very big, large scale) · uk вели́кий (very big, large scale) · hy մեծ (very big, large scale) · es grosso (very big, large scale) · ko 위대하다 (important title) · nl heerlijk (very good) · lus ţha (very good) · es groso (very big, large scale) · dng да (very big, large scale) · sv stor (important title) · el μεγάλος (very big, large scale) · ja 巨大な (very big, large scale) · ja 非凡な (uncommonly gifted) · ota بیوك (very big, large scale) · fa کبیر (important title) · sh го̀лем (very big, large scale) · mi mokotahi (very big, large scale) · sh vèlik (very big, large scale) · fi lahjakas (uncommonly gifted) · arz عظيم (very good) · pt ótimo (very good) · cmn 巨大 (very big, large scale) · lv lielisks (very good) · pl świetny (very good) · be выда́тны (very good) · ar كَبِير (very big, large scale) · ru отли́чный (very good) · de fein (very good) · ro minunat (very good) · cy mawr (very big, large scale) · de wundervoll (very good) · bg отли́чен (very good) · hu nagy (very big, large scale) · ro mare (very big, large scale) · ru прекра́сный (very good) · udi кала (very big, large scale) · be вялі́кі (very big, large scale) · crh ulu (very big, large scale) · ja 壮大な (very good) · mk одличен (very good) · he גדול (important title) · kk ұлы (very big, large scale) · it ottimo (very good) · el περίφημος (important title) · bg чуде́сен (very good) · ru вели́кий (very big, large scale) · frr grat (very big, large scale) · te గొప్ప (very big, large scale) · fi suunnaton (very big, large scale) · oc formidable (very good) · el εξαιρετικός (very good) · lus lian (very big, large scale) · ko 멋지다 (very good) · cmn 很好 (very good) · da stor (very big, large scale) · es grosso (very good) · ckb زۆر چاک (very good) · bn আকবর (important title) · vi khổng lồ (very big, large scale) · swb -ɓole (uncommonly gifted) · ps غوره (very good) · fa سترگ (very big, large scale) · fi mahtava (very big, large scale) · be цудо́ўны (very good) · ota بزرك (very big, large scale) · ps ستر (very big, large scale) · fr grand (very big, large scale) · ca gran (very big, large scale) · da fed (very good) · nn stor (very big, large scale) · esh پیل (very big, large scale) · ja 大王 (important title) · txb orotstse (very big, large scale) · cmn 卓越 (very good) · lt puikus (very good) · pt grande (important title) · id besar (very big, large scale) · syc ܪܒܐ (very good) · nn kjempebra (very good) · fr super (very good) · ota ایری (very big, large scale) · syc ܟܒܝܪܐ (very big, large scale) · hy հոյակապ (very good) · nv tsoh (very big, large scale) · ga diail (very good) · sco great (very big, large scale) · sux 𒃲 (very good) · is mikill (very big, large scale) · pt distinto (important title) · dlm gruond (very big, large scale) · la magnus (very good) · ka საუცხოო (very good) · lt didelis (very big, large scale) · fr grande (important title) · fa بزرگ (very big, large scale) · sco gey (very good) · lus ropui (very big, large scale) · uga 𐎗𐎁 (very big, large scale) · de groß (very big, large scale) · la magnus (very big, large scale) · cmn 大 (very big, large scale) · ru вели́кий (important title) · es Magno (important title) · eo ega (very big, large scale) · sh gòlem (very big, large scale) · it formidabile (very good) · fa عظیم (very big, large scale) · my ကြီးမားသော (very big, large scale) · it superbo (very good) · fy grut (very big, large scale) · et suurepärane (very good) · cs veliký (important title) · rap nui (very big, large scale) · wyi buladu (very big, large scale) · he גָּדוֹל (very big, large scale) · syc ܪܒܐ (very big, large scale) · nb stor (very big, large scale) · it super (very good) · akk 𒃲 (very good) · de großartig (very good) · sh одличан (very good) · ca enorme (very big, large scale) · fr formidable (very good) · fo mikil (very big, large scale) · lv varens (very big, large scale) · vi tuyệt vời (very good) · bn আকবর (very big, large scale) · la magnus (uncommonly gifted) · sh vèlik (important title) · sq madh (very big, large scale) · non stórr (very big, large scale) · da skøn (very good) · fi jättimäinen (very big, large scale) · orv великъ (very big, large scale) · es grave (very big, large scale) · swb -ɓole (very big, large scale) · ja 偉大な (uncommonly gifted) · mk велик (important title) · pl wielki (important title) · lv liels (very big, large scale) · ja 大きい (very big, large scale) · cy grêt (very good) · kw brâs (very big, large scale) · nb kjempebra (very good) · arz كبير (very big, large scale) · es Grande (important title) · fa عالی (very good) · tg бузург (very big, large scale) · cmn 偉大 /伟大 (uncommonly gifted) · es groso (very good) · fi erinomainen (very good) · et oivaline (very good) · arc רַבָּא (very good) · sq i madh (important title) · vi Cả (important title) · ro superb (very good) · fi nerokas (uncommonly gifted) · it eccellente (very good) · sl odličen (very good) · ko 위대하다 (very big, large scale) · ps لوی (very big, large scale) · da alle tiders (very good) · tr çok büyük (very big, large scale) · sv jättebra (very good) · ar عَظِيم (very big, large scale) · cu ⰲⰵⰾⰻⰽⱏ (very big, large scale) · fi iso- (family relationship) · fi suuri (important title) · pl wspaniały (very good) · kea nhaku (uncommonly gifted) · bg вели́к (very big, large scale) · ga mór (very big, large scale) · ja 偉大な (very big, large scale) · vi Đại (very big, large scale) · fi erittäin hyvä (very good) · ca genial (very good) · fi tosihyvä (very good) · es gran (very big, large scale) · uga 𐎗𐎁 (very good) · myv покш (very big, large scale) · ko 거대하다 (very big, large scale) · ja 素敵な (very good) · udm быдӟым (very big, large scale) · lus ropui (very good) · ar عَظِيم (very good) · nl groot (very big, large scale) · es requetebién (very good) · fur grant (very big, large scale) · es muy bueno (very good) · pt grande (very big, large scale) · ajp كبير (very big, large scale) · ang miċel (very big, large scale) · fr grand (important title) · uk чуде́сний (very good) · et vägev (very big, large scale) · uk чудо́вий (very good) · ga ábhal (very big, large scale) · lt didysis (important title) · sco unco (very big, large scale) · sh вѐлик (important title) · ro foarte bun (very good) · nl prachtig (very good) · pdt groot (nds) (very good) · es fetén (very good) · sh odličan (very good) · ps لوی (important title) · vi tuyệt (very good) · ca fabulós (very good) · mi mokorahi (very big, large scale) · es piola (very good) · la grandis (very big, large scale) · sh izvrstan (very good) · mn их (very big, large scale) · it magna (important title) · pt grandioso (very big, large scale) · de der Große (important title) · sh изврстан (very good) · es buenísimo (very good) · vi Đại Đế (important title) · es bonísimo (very good) · cy gwych (very good) · got 𐌼𐌹𐌺𐌹𐌻𐍃 (very big, large scale) · non mikill (very big, large scale) · dlm grund (very big, large scale) · fr excellent (very good) · nap gruosso (very big, large scale) · fi jätti- (very big, large scale) · sv stor (very big, large scale) · es genial (very good)

great en · ADV

Pronunciation

grĕt (Southern-US, archaic)
/ɡɹɛːt/ Early Modern English; 16ᵗʰ–17ᵗʰ centuries
/ˈɡɾet/ (Scotland)
(General-American) audio
[ˈɡɹeːt] (Canada)
[ˈɡɹɛːt] Ottawa Valley
/ˈɡɹeɪt/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
Early Modern English; 16ᵗʰ–17ᵗʰ centuries
grīt 18ᵗʰ century
/ˈɡɹɛt/
/ˈɡɹæɪt/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
(US) audio
/ɡɹiːt/ 18ᵗʰ century
grāt
/ˈɡɹɛjt/ (British, Southern, Standard)
/ˈɡɾeːt/ (Wales) without the pane–pain merger
[ˈɡɹeːt] Ottawa Valley

Etymology

From Middle English greet, grete (“great, large”), from Old English grēat (“big, massive; tall; thick; coarse”), from Proto-West Germanic *graut, from Proto-Germanic *grautaz (“coarse, crude; big, large”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd-, *gʰer- (“to rub; to stroke; to grind; to remove”). Cognates Cognate with Scots graat, great, greet (“great”), Yola graat (“great”), North Frisian grat, groot, grot, grut, gråt, gurt (“big, great, large”), Saterland Frisian groot (“big, large”), West Frisian grut (“big, great, large”), Alemannic German groß, gruuss (“very large”), Central Franconian jruß (“big, great, large”), Cimbrian gròas, groaz (“big, great, large”), Dutch and German Low German groot (“big, great, large”), German gross, groß (“big, large”), Limburgish grut, gruët (“big, large; grand; tall; adult; pregnant”), Luxembourgish grouss (“big, great, large”), Mòcheno groas (“big, great, large”), Vilamovian grus, grūs (“big, great, large”), Yiddish גרויס (groys, “big, large”); also Latin grandis (“big, great, large”), Greek χρίω (chrío, “to anoint”), Albanian grind (“to brawl, fight”), Latvian grauds (“grain”), Lithuanian grūdas (“grain”), Czech hrouda, hruda (“clod”), Macedonian грутка (grutka, “clod, clump, lump”), Polish gruda (“clod, lump; frozen ground; mud fever, scratches”), Russian гру́да (grúda, “clod, heap, mass, pile”), Serbo-Croatian гру̏да, гру̏два, grȕda, grȕdva (“clod, lump; snowball”), Armenian կորկոտ (korkot, “groats of wheat or barley”), Sanskrit घर्षति (gharṣati, “to brush, polish, rub”). Related to grit. Doublet of gross. The modern pronunciation shows an irregular change of Early Modern English /ɛː/ to /eɪ/ in the standard language; contrast this with the development of other words such as beat and heat.

Meanings

(informal, not-comparable) Very well (in a very satisfactory manner).
- Those mechanical colored pencils work great because they don’t have to be sharpened.

Forms

Spelling	Labels	Source
gert	alternative	lexicographic
gurt	UK, West-Country, alternative	lexicographic
geet	Geordie, alternative	lexicographic
girt	alternative	lexicographic

Translations (19)

pl świetnie (very well) · ka ჩინებულად (very well) · ka საუცხოოდ (very well) · it molto bene (very well) · ka დიდებულად (very well) · es requetebién (very well) · pt bem (very well) · pl fajnie (very well) · es genialmente (very well) · es genial (very well) · es fetén (very well) · mk одлично (very well) · es chanchi (very well) · it bene (very well) · es biensísimo (very well) · es chachi (very well) · pl fajno (very well) · ka შესანიშნავად (very well) · es muy bien (very well)

great en · INTJ

Pronunciation

grĕt (Southern-US, archaic)
/ɡɹɛːt/ Early Modern English; 16ᵗʰ–17ᵗʰ centuries
/ˈɡɾet/ (Scotland)
(General-American) audio
[ˈɡɹeːt] (Canada)
[ˈɡɹɛːt] Ottawa Valley
/ˈɡɹeɪt/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
Early Modern English; 16ᵗʰ–17ᵗʰ centuries
grīt 18ᵗʰ century
/ˈɡɹɛt/
/ˈɡɹæɪt/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
(US) audio
/ɡɹiːt/ 18ᵗʰ century
grāt
/ˈɡɹɛjt/ (British, Southern, Standard)
/ˈɡɾeːt/ (Wales) without the pane–pain merger
[ˈɡɹeːt] Ottawa Valley

Etymology

From Middle English greet, grete (“great, large”), from Old English grēat (“big, massive; tall; thick; coarse”), from Proto-West Germanic *graut, from Proto-Germanic *grautaz (“coarse, crude; big, large”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd-, *gʰer- (“to rub; to stroke; to grind; to remove”). Cognates Cognate with Scots graat, great, greet (“great”), Yola graat (“great”), North Frisian grat, groot, grot, grut, gråt, gurt (“big, great, large”), Saterland Frisian groot (“big, large”), West Frisian grut (“big, great, large”), Alemannic German groß, gruuss (“very large”), Central Franconian jruß (“big, great, large”), Cimbrian gròas, groaz (“big, great, large”), Dutch and German Low German groot (“big, great, large”), German gross, groß (“big, large”), Limburgish grut, gruët (“big, large; grand; tall; adult; pregnant”), Luxembourgish grouss (“big, great, large”), Mòcheno groas (“big, great, large”), Vilamovian grus, grūs (“big, great, large”), Yiddish גרויס (groys, “big, large”); also Latin grandis (“big, great, large”), Greek χρίω (chrío, “to anoint”), Albanian grind (“to brawl, fight”), Latvian grauds (“grain”), Lithuanian grūdas (“grain”), Czech hrouda, hruda (“clod”), Macedonian грутка (grutka, “clod, clump, lump”), Polish gruda (“clod, lump; frozen ground; mud fever, scratches”), Russian гру́да (grúda, “clod, heap, mass, pile”), Serbo-Croatian гру̏да, гру̏два, grȕda, grȕdva (“clod, lump; snowball”), Armenian կորկոտ (korkot, “groats of wheat or barley”), Sanskrit घर्षति (gharṣati, “to brush, polish, rub”). Related to grit. Doublet of gross. The modern pronunciation shows an irregular change of Early Modern English /ɛː/ to /eɪ/ in the standard language; contrast this with the development of other words such as beat and heat.

Meanings

Expression of gladness and content about something.
- —I am in my new apartment! —Great! 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
- Great! Thanks for the wonderful work.
A sarcastic inversion thereof.
- Oh, great! I just dumped all 500 sheets of the manuscript all over and now I have to put them back in order.

Forms

Spelling	Labels	Source
gert	alternative	lexicographic
gurt	UK, West-Country, alternative	lexicographic
geet	Geordie, alternative	lexicographic
girt	alternative	lexicographic

Translations (49)

ka ვაშა (great!) · ga go hiontach (great!) · ja すごい (great!) · da super (great!) · vec vèrceghe (great!) · he נהדר (great!) · ta பிரமாதம் (great!) · ckb زۆر چاکە (great!) · de prima (great!) · mk одлично (great!) · es bien (great!) · it bene (great!) · ms bagus (great!) · nl fantastisch (great!) · mk супер (great!) · pt magnífico (great!) · es genial (great!) · de super (great!) · th ยอดเยี่ยม (great!) · el θαυμάσια (great!) · vi tuyệt vời (great!) · ta சூப்பர் (great!) · la babae (great!) · hu szuper (great!) · pl super (great!) · vi tuyệt (great!) · pl świetnie (great!) · cmn 太棒了 (great!) · bg чуде́сно (great!) · fi mahtavaa (great!) · da fedt (great!) · ckb باشە (great!) · pt ótimo (great!) · nl fijn (great!) · ta செம்ம (great!) · fr génial (great!) · is frábært (great!) · is æðislegt (great!) · ru отли́чно (great!) · fr chouette (great!) · fr très bien (great!) · it grandioso (great!) · ru класс (great!) · ru здо́рово (great!) · he מעולה (great!) · he טוב מאוד (great!) · da nice (great!) · it grande (great!) · sv jättebra (great!)

great en · NOUN

Pronunciation

grĕt (Southern-US, archaic)
/ɡɹɛːt/ Early Modern English; 16ᵗʰ–17ᵗʰ centuries
/ˈɡɾet/ (Scotland)
(General-American) audio
[ˈɡɹeːt] (Canada)
[ˈɡɹɛːt] Ottawa Valley
/ˈɡɹeɪt/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
Early Modern English; 16ᵗʰ–17ᵗʰ centuries
grīt 18ᵗʰ century
/ˈɡɹɛt/
/ˈɡɹæɪt/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
(US) audio
/ɡɹiːt/ 18ᵗʰ century
grāt
/ˈɡɹɛjt/ (British, Southern, Standard)
/ˈɡɾeːt/ (Wales) without the pane–pain merger
[ˈɡɹeːt] Ottawa Valley

Etymology

From Middle English greet, grete (“great, large”), from Old English grēat (“big, massive; tall; thick; coarse”), from Proto-West Germanic *graut, from Proto-Germanic *grautaz (“coarse, crude; big, large”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd-, *gʰer- (“to rub; to stroke; to grind; to remove”). Cognates Cognate with Scots graat, great, greet (“great”), Yola graat (“great”), North Frisian grat, groot, grot, grut, gråt, gurt (“big, great, large”), Saterland Frisian groot (“big, large”), West Frisian grut (“big, great, large”), Alemannic German groß, gruuss (“very large”), Central Franconian jruß (“big, great, large”), Cimbrian gròas, groaz (“big, great, large”), Dutch and German Low German groot (“big, great, large”), German gross, groß (“big, large”), Limburgish grut, gruët (“big, large; grand; tall; adult; pregnant”), Luxembourgish grouss (“big, great, large”), Mòcheno groas (“big, great, large”), Vilamovian grus, grūs (“big, great, large”), Yiddish גרויס (groys, “big, large”); also Latin grandis (“big, great, large”), Greek χρίω (chrío, “to anoint”), Albanian grind (“to brawl, fight”), Latvian grauds (“grain”), Lithuanian grūdas (“grain”), Czech hrouda, hruda (“clod”), Macedonian грутка (grutka, “clod, clump, lump”), Polish gruda (“clod, lump; frozen ground; mud fever, scratches”), Russian гру́да (grúda, “clod, heap, mass, pile”), Serbo-Croatian гру̏да, гру̏два, grȕda, grȕdva (“clod, lump; snowball”), Armenian կորկոտ (korkot, “groats of wheat or barley”), Sanskrit घर्षति (gharṣati, “to brush, polish, rub”). Related to grit. Doublet of gross. The modern pronunciation shows an irregular change of Early Modern English /ɛː/ to /eɪ/ in the standard language; contrast this with the development of other words such as beat and heat.

Meanings

A person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim.
- Sadio Mané wasted a glorious chance in the first half and, late on, Mohamed Salah turned his shot against a post after a goal-line clearance had spun his way. That, in a nutshell, perhaps sums up the difference between Messi and the players on the next rung below – the ones who can be described as great footballers without necessarily being football greats. 2019 May 1, Daniel Taylor, The Guardian:
- Newton and Einstein are two of the greats of the history of science.
The main division in a pipe organ, usually the loudest division.
(in combinations such as two-greats, usually) An instance of the word great signifying an additional generation in phrases expressing family relationships.
- my three-greats grandmother
(informal, rare) A great-grandparent.
- My great-grandparents were immigrants from Hjelmeland, Rogaland, Norway, I believe. […] They sailed on the Bergensfjord. From the story my grandmother gives my great was pregnant when she boarded the ship. 2005 May 8, Vidar Holum, “Nils Hetland and Karina Bjelland or Breiland to USA”, in no.fritid.slektsforsking.etterlysing (Usenet), archived from the original on 09 Jul 2026:
- On my Ma's side, I have a whole lotta Scot (Ferguson), with some Irish, and her maternal gandpa^([sic]) (my great) was from Trieste, so also Italian-Austrian-Slovenian. 2002 April 4, John Shafto, “Ethnic origin of Alex”, in alt.music.rush (Usenet), archived from the original on 09 Jul 2026:
- I knew my great-gran, but no one really believed the Montez story until we saw photos of the sinous dancer. My great was the spiitng^([sic]) image of HER great. 1999 August 25, Christopher Jahn, “Something about Today...”, in alt.callahans (Usenet), archived from the original on 09 Jul 2026:

Forms

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
gurt		UK, West-Country, alternative	lexicographic
geet		Geordie, alternative	lexicographic
gert		alternative	lexicographic
girt		alternative	lexicographic
greats	Number=Plur		lexicographic

Antonyms

mediocre (antonym(s) of “person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim”)

Translations (12)

mk велика́н (person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim) · bg големец (person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim) · it grande (person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim) · kea nhaku (person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim) · ja 偉人 (person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim) · pt grande (person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim) · bn আকাবির (person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim) · te గొప్పవాడు (person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim) · de Größe (person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim) · nb storhet (person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim) · cmn 偉人 /伟人 (person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim) · tr ünlü (person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim)