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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

GREAT, a. [L. crassus.]
1. Large in bulk or dimensions; a term of comparison, denoting more magnitude or extension than something else, or beyond what is usual; as a great body; a great house; a great farm.
2. Being of extended length or breadth; as a great distance; a great lake.
3. Large in number; as a great many; a great multitude.
4. Expressing a large, extensive or unusual degree of any thing; as great fear; great love; great strength; great wealth; great power; great influence; great folly.
5. Long continued; as a great while.
6. Important; weighty; as a great argument; a great truth; a great event; a thing of no great consequence; it is no great matter.
7. Chief; principal; as the great seal of England.
8. Chief; of vast power and excellence; supreme; illustrious; as the great God; the great Creator.
9. Vast; extensive; wonderful; admirable.
Great are thy works. Jehovah.
10. Possessing large or strong powers of mind; as a great genius.
11. Having made extensive or unusual acquisitions of science or knowledge; as a great philosopher or botanist; a great scholar.
12. Distinguished by rank, office or power; elevated; eminent; as a great lord; the great men of the nation; the great Mogul; Alexander the great.
13. Dignified in aspect,mien or manner.
Amidst the crowd she walks serenely great.
14. Magnanimous; generous; of elevated sentiments; high-minded. He has a great soul.
15. Rich; sumptuous; magnificent. He disdained not to appear at great tables. A great feast or entertainment.
16. Vast; sublime; as a great conception or idea.
17. Dignified; noble.
Nothing can be great which is not right.
18. Swelling; proud; as, he was not disheartened by great looks.
19. Chief; principal; much traveled; as a great road. The ocean is called the great highway of nations.
20. Pregnant; teeming; as great with young.
21. Hard; difficult. It is no great matter to live in peace with meek people.
22. Familiar; intimate. [Vulgar.]
23. Distinguished by extraordinary events, or unusual importance. Jude 6.
24. Denoting a degree of consanguinity, in the ascending or descending line, as great grandfather, the father of a grandfather; great great grandfather, the father of a great grandfather, and so on indefinitely; and great grandson, great great grandson. etc.
25. Superior; preeminent; as great chamberlain; great marshal.
The sense of great is to be understood by the things it is intended to qualify. Great pain or wrath is violent pain or wrath; great love is ardent love; great peace is entire peace; a great name is extensive renown; a great evil or sin, is a sin of deep malignity, etc.
GREAT, n. The whole; the gross; the lump or mass; as, a carpenter contracts to build a ship by the great.
1. People of rank or distinction. The poor envy the great, and the great despise the poor.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind; "a great juicy steak"; "a great multitude"; "the great auk"; "a great old oak"; "a great ocean liner"; "a great delay"
2: of major significance or importance; "a great work of art"; "Einstein was one of the outstanding figures of the 20th centurey" [syn: great, outstanding]
3: remarkable or out of the ordinary in degree or magnitude or effect; "a great crisis"; "had a great stake in the outcome"
4: very good; "he did a bully job"; "a neat sports car"; "had a great time at the party"; "you look simply smashing" [syn: bang-up, bully, corking, cracking, dandy, great, groovy, keen, neat, nifty, not bad, peachy, slap-up, swell, smashing]
5: uppercase; "capital A"; "great A"; "many medieval manuscripts are in majuscule script" [syn: capital, great, majuscule]
6: in an advanced stage of pregnancy; "was big with child"; "was great with child" [syn: big, enceinte, expectant, gravid, great, large, heavy, with child] n
1: a person who has achieved distinction and honor in some field; "he is one of the greats of American music"

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English grete, from Old English gr?at; akin to Old High German gr?z large Date: before 12th century 1. a. notably large in size ; huge b. of a kind characterized by relative largeness — used in plant and animal names 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 II. adverb Date: 13th century in a great manner ; successfully, well <things are going great> III. noun (plural great or greats) Date: 13th century an outstandingly superior or skillful person <a tribute to the greats of baseball>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 a of a size, amount, extent, or intensity considerably above the normal or average; big (made a great hole; take great care; lived to a great age). b also with implied surprise, admiration, contempt, etc., esp. in exclamations (you great idiot!; great stuff!; look at that great wasp). c reinforcing other words denoting size, quantity, etc. (a great big hole; a great many). 2 important, pre-eminent; worthy or most worthy of consideration (the great thing is not to get caught). 3 grand, imposing (a great occasion; the great hall). 4 a (esp. of a public or historic figure) distinguished; prominent. b (the Great) as a title denoting the most important of the name (Alfred the Great). 5 a (of a person) remarkable in ability, character, achievement, etc. (great men; a great thinker). b (of a thing) outstanding of its kind (the Great Fire). 6 (foll. by at, on) competent, skilled, well-informed. 7 fully deserving the name of; doing a thing habitually or extensively (a great reader; a great believer in tolerance; not a great one for travelling). 8 (also greater) the larger of the name, species, etc. (great auk; greater celandine). 9 (Greater) (of a city etc.) including adjacent urban areas (Greater Manchester). 10 colloq. a very enjoyable or satisfactory; attractive, fine (had a great time; it would be great if we won). b (as an exclam.) fine, very good. 11 (in comb.) (in names of family relationships) denoting one degree further removed upwards or downwards (great-uncle; great-great-grandmother). --n. 1 a great or outstanding person or thing. 2 (in pl.) (Greats) colloq. (at Oxford University) an honours course or final examinations in classics and philosophy. Phrases and idioms: great and small all classes or types. the Great Bear see BEAR(2). Great Britain England, Wales, and Scotland. great circle see CIRCLE. Great Dane see DANE. great deal see DEAL(1). great-hearted magnanimous; having a noble or generous mind. great-heartedness magnanimity. the great majority by far the most. great northern diver a diving sea bird, Gavia immer, of the northern hemisphere. great organ the chief manual in a large organ, with its related pipes and mechanism. Great Russian n. a member or the language of the principal ethnic group in the USSR; Russian. --adj. of or relating to this people or language. great tit a Eurasian songbird, Parus major, with black and white head markings. great toe the big toe. Great War the world war of 1914-18. to a great extent largely. Derivatives: greatness n. Etymology: OE great f. WG

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mogul Mo*gul", n. [From the Mongolian.] 1. A person of the Mongolian race. 2. (Railroad) A heavy locomotive for freight traffic, having three pairs of connected driving wheels and a two-wheeled truck. Great, or Grand, Mogul, the sovereign of the empire founded in Hindostan by the Mongols under Baber in the sixteenth century. Hence, a very important personage; a lord; -- sometimes only mogul.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Great Great, n. The whole; the gross; as, a contract to build a ship by the great.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Great Great, a. [Compar. Greater; superl. Greatest.] [OE. gret, great, AS. gre['a]t; akin to OS. & LG. gr[=o]t, D. groot, OHG. gr[=o]z, G. gross. Cf. Groat the coin.] 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. 2. Large in number; numerous; as, a great company, multitude, series, etc. 3. Long continued; lengthened in duration; prolonged in time; as, a great while; a great interval. 4. Superior; admirable; commanding; -- applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings. 5. Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty; noble; as, a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, etc. 6. Holding a chief position; elevated: lofty: eminent; distingushed; foremost; principal; as, great men; the great seal; the great marshal, etc. He doth object I am too great of birth. --Shak. 7. Entitled to earnest consideration; weighty; important; as, a great argument, truth, or principle. 8. Pregnant; big (with young). The ewes great with young. --Ps. lxxviii. 71. 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. 10. (Genealogy) 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. 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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(greater, greatest, greats) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. You use great to describe something that is very large. Great is more formal than big. The room had a great bay window. ...a great hall as long and high as a church. ADJ: ADJ n 2. Great means large in amount or degree. I'll take great care of it... Benjamin Britten did not live to a great age. ADJ 3. You use great to describe something that is important, famous, or exciting. ...the great cultural achievements of the past... America can be great again. ADJ • greatness A nation must take certain risks to achieve greatness. N-UNCOUNT 4. You can describe someone who is successful and famous for their actions, knowledge, or skill as great. Wes Hall was once one of the West Indies' great cricketers. ...the great George Padmore. ADJ: usu ADJ n • greatness Abraham Lincoln achieved greatness. N-UNCOUNT 5. The greats in a particular subject or field of activity are the people who have been most successful or famous in it. (JOURNALISM) ...all the greats of Hollywood. ...cycling's all-time greats. N-PLURAL: with supp 6. The greats of popular modern music are records that have been successful and that continue to be popular. (JOURNALISM) ...a medley of rock'n'roll greats. N-PLURAL 7. If you describe someone or something as great, you approve of them or admire them. (INFORMAL) Arturo has this great place in Cazadero... They're a great bunch of guys... I think she's great. ADJ [approval] 8. If you feel great, you feel very healthy, energetic, and enthusiastic. I feel just great. ADJ: feel ADJ 9. You use great in order to emphasize the size or degree of a characteristic or quality. ...a great big Italian wedding. ...her sense of colour and great eye for detail. ADJ [emphasis] 10. You say great in order to emphasize that you are pleased or enthusiastic about something. Oh great! That'll be good for Fergus. EXCLAM [feelings] 11. You say great in order to emphasize that you are angry or annoyed about something. 'Oh great,' I thought. 'Just what I need.' EXCLAM [feelings] 12. Great is used as part of the name of a species of plant or animal when there is another species of the same plant or animal which is smaller and has different characteristics. ...the great white shark. N-IN-NAMES see also greater

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Large, big, vast, huge, bulky, ample, immense, gigantic, Herculean, Cyclopean, enormous. 2. Much, excessive, high. 3. Numerous, countless. 4. Considerable, important, weighty. 5. Distinguished, eminent, prominent, exalted, elevated, excellent, noted, illustrious, celebrated, famous, famed, renowned, far-famed. 6. Grand, august, dignified, noble, majestic, sublime, elevated, lofty, exalted. 7. Magnanimous, generous, chivalrous, highminded. 8. Sumptuous, rich, magnificent. 9. Hard, difficult, onerous, burdensome, grievous. 10. Chief, principal, main, leading, grand. 11. Superior, pre-eminent. II. n. [With The prefixed.] Great persons, persons of rank, people of distinction.

Moby Thesaurus

Brobdingnagian, Cyclopean, Establishment, OK, VIP, able, absolute, abundant, accomplished, ace, ace-high, active, acute, adept, adroit, aggrandized, anticipating, apotheosized, arch, ardent, arrant, artistic, ascendant, authoritarian, authoritative, authorized, autocratic, awesome, awful, bad, bang-up, banner, baron, basic, beatified, best, big, big gun, big man, big name, big with child, big-laden, big-league, big-name, big-time, bighearted, bigwig, bigwigged, bonzer, boss, brass, brass hat, breeding, brilliant, bull, bully, bumper, but good, canonized, capacious, capital, cardinal, carrying, carrying a fetus, celebrated, celebrity, central, champion, chief, chivalrous, choir, claviature, clever, close, clothed with authority, colossal, commanding, competent, comprehensive, consequential, considerable, console, consummate, controlling, cool, corking, countless, crackerjack, critical, crowning, crucial, cutting, dandy, dedicated, deep, deified, delicious, devoted, dignitary, dignity, distinguished, dominant, double-barreled, drastic, ducky, duly constituted, eager, earthshaking, echo, egregious, eighty-eight, elder, elevated, eminent, empowered, ennobled, enormous, enshrined, enthroned, enthusiastic, ex officio, exalted, excellent, exceptional, excess, excessive, exhaustive, exorbitant, expecting, expert, extensive, extraordinary, extravagant, extreme, fab, faithful, famed, famous, fast, fat, father, fierce, figure, fine and dandy, fingerboard, first, first-rate, first-rater, flagrant, focal, foremost, full, furious, gargantuan, gear, generous, genius, gestating, giant, gifted, gigantic, glaring, glorified, good hand, goodly, governing, grand, grave, gravid, great man, great of heart, greathearted, grievous, groovy, handsome, headmost, healthy, hear, heavy, heavy with child, heavyweight, hegemonic, hegemonistic, heinous, held in awe, heroic, high, high and mighty, high-minded, high-powered, horrendous, horrible, horrific, hot, huge, hunky-dory, husky, idealistic, illustrious, immense, immoderate, immortal, immortalized, imperative, important, important person, incomparable, influential, inordinate, intemperate, intense, interests, intimate, irresistible, ivories, jam-up, just dandy, keen, keyboard, keys, knightly, knocked up, large, large-scale, largehearted, leading, liberal, lion, lofty, lords of creation, loving, loyal, magician, magisterial, magnanimous, magnate, magnified, mahatma, main, major, mammoth, man of genius, man of mark, man-sized, manual, marked, marvy, massive, master, master hand, mastermind, matchless, material, maximum, mean, mighty, mogul, momentous, monocratic, monstrous, nabob, name, neat, nifty, nobby, noble, noble-minded, notability, notable, noteworthy, numerous, official, okay, openhanded, organ manual, out of sight, out-and-out, outrageous, outstanding, overruling, panjandrum, paramount, parturient, passionate, past master, peachy, peachy-keen, pedals, peerless, person of renown, personage, personality, piano keys, piercing, pillar of society, plenary, potent, power, power elite, powerful, practiced hand, predominant, preeminent, preggers, pregnant, preponderant, prestigious, prevailing, primal, primary, prime, princely, principal, prodigious, prodigy, proficient, profound, prominent, pronounced, puissant, ranking, remarkable, renowned, rigorous, ripping, rough, ruling, ruling circle, rum, sachem, sage, sainted, sanctified, scrumptious, self-important, senior, serious, severe, sharp, shrined, significant, sizable, skilled, skilled hand, slap-up, smashing, solid, solo, somebody, something, something else, sovereign, spacious, spectacular, spiffing, spiffy, splitting, star, stellar, strong, stunning, stupendous, sublime, substantial, superb, supereminent, superfetate, superimpregnated, superior, superlative, superstar, supreme, surpassing, swell, talented, tall, teeming, terrible, terrific, the great, the top, throned, tidy, titanic, top, top brass, top people, topflight, topnotcher, total, totalitarian, tough, transcendent, tremendous, true, tycoon, unconscionable, unforgivable, vast, vehement, venomous, very important person, violent, virtuoso, virulent, weighty, well-known, whiz, with child, wizard, wonderful, world-shaking, worthy, zealous