great

Etymology

From Middle English greet (“great, large”), from Old English grēat (“big, thick, coarse, massive”), from Proto-West Germanic *graut, from Proto-Germanic *grautaz (“big in size, coarse, coarse grained”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd-, *gʰer- (“to rub, grind, remove”). Cognate with Scots great (“coarse in grain or texture, thick, great”), West Frisian grut (“large, great”), Dutch groot (“large, stour”), German groß (“large”), Old English grēot (“earth, sand, grit”). Related to grit.

adj

1. (augmentative) Large, senior (high-ranking), intense, extreme, or exceptional
   1. Relatively large in scale, size, extent, number (i.e. having many parts or members) or duration (i.e. relatively long); very big.
      A great storm is approaching our shores.
      a great assembly
      a great wait
      “[…] 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.[…]” 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest
      ‘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
      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. 2013-07-19, Timothy Garton Ash, “Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 18
   2. Title referring to an important leader.
      Alexander the Great
   3. Of larger size or more importance than others of its kind.
      the great auk
   4. (informal) Very good; excellent; wonderful; fantastic.
      Dinner was great.
   5. (informal, Britain) Intensifying a word or expression, used in mild oaths.
      a dirty great smack in the face
      Great Scott!
2. (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). [see Derived terms]
   great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather, great-great-great-grandfather
3. (obsolete, postpositive, followed by 'with') Pregnant; large with young; full of.
   great with child
   great with hope
4. (obsolete, except with 'friend' and similar words such as 'mate','buddy') Intimate; familiar.
5. Extreme or more than usual.
   great worry
6. Of significant importance or consequence; important.
   a great decision
   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
7. (applied to actions, thoughts and feelings) Arising from or possessing idealism; admirable; superior; commanding; heroic; illustrious; eminent.
   a great deed
   a great nature
   a great history
8. Impressive or striking.
   a great show of wealth
9. Much in use; favoured.
   Poetry was a great convention of the Romantic era.
10. (applied to persons) Endowed with extraordinary powers; of exceptional talents or achievements; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; remarkable; strong; powerful; mighty; noble.
    a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, writer etc.
11. Doing or exemplifying (a characteristic or pursuit) on a large scale; active or enthusiastic.
    What a great buffoon!
    He's not a great one for reading.
    a great walker
12. (often followed by 'at') Skilful or adroit.
    a great carpenter
    You are great at singing.

intj

1. Expression of gladness and content about something.
   Great! Thanks for the wonderful work.
   I am in my new apartment! Great! Audio (US) (file) 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
2. 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.

noun

1. A person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim.
   Newton and Einstein are two of the greats of the history of science.
   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. 1 May 2019, Daniel Taylor, The Guardian
2. (music) The main division in a pipe organ, usually the loudest division.
3. (in combinations such as "two-greats", "three-greats" etc.) An instance of the word "great" signifying an additional generation in phrases expressing family relationships.
   My three-greats grandmother.

adv

1. (informal) Very well (in a very satisfactory manner).
   Those mechanical colored pencils work great because they don't have to be sharpened.