great

Definitions

1. 1.Large in number; numerous; as, a great company, multitude, series, etc.
2. 2.Long continued; lengthened in duration; prolonged in time; as, a great while; a great interval.
3. 3.Superior; admirable; commanding; -- applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings.
4. 4.Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty; noble; as, a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, etc.
5. 5.Holding a chief position; elevated: lofty: eminent; distingushed; formost; principal; as, great men; the great seal; the great marshal, etc. He doth object I am too great of birth. Shak.
6. 6.Entitled to earnest consideration; weighty; important; as, a great argument, truth, or principle.
7. 7.Pregnant; big (with young). The ewes great with young. Ps. lxxviii.
8. 8.9. 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.
9. 9.(Genealogy) Older, younger, or more remote, by single generation; -- often used before grand to indicate one degree more remote in the direct line of de scent; as, great-grandfather (a grandfather's or a grand- mother's father), great-grandson, etc. Great bear (Astron.), the constellation Ursa Major. -- Great cattle (Law), all manner of cattle except sheep and yearlings. Wharton. -- Great charter (Eng. Hist.), 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. T. Hughes. -- Great guns. (Naut.) 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 master. Same as Grand master, under Grand. -- Great organ (Mus.), 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 (of Europe), in modern diplomacy, Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Russia, and Italy. -- Great primer. See under Type. -- Great scale (Mus.), 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. (a) The principal seal of a kingdom or state. (b) In Great Britain, the lord chancellor (who is custodian of this seal); also, his office. -- 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 (with one), to be intimate or familiar (with him). Bacon.
10. 10.The whole.; the gross; as, a contract to build a ship by the great.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

• What does "great" mean?
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Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is great.

• What is large in number; numerous; as, a great company, multitude, series, etc called?
• What is long continued; lengthened in duration; prolonged in time; as, a great while; a great interval called?
• What is superior; admirable; commanding; -- applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings called?
• What is endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty; noble; as, a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, etc called?
• What is holding a chief position; elevated: lofty: eminent; distingushed; formost; principal; as, great men; the great seal; the great marshal, etc. He doth object I am too great of birth. Shak called?
• What is entitled to earnest consideration; weighty; important; as, a great argument, truth, or principle called?
• What is pregnant; big (with young). The ewes great with young. Ps. lxxviii called?
• What is 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 called?
• What is the whole.; the gross; as, a contract to build a ship by the great called?