a. [ Compar. Greater superl. Greatest. ] [ OE. gret, great, AS. greát; akin to OS. & LG. grōt, D. groot, OHG. grōz, 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Large in number; numerous; as, a great company, multitude, series, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Long continued; lengthened in duration; prolonged in time; as, a great while; a great interval. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Superior; admirable; commanding; -- applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty; noble; as, a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Holding a chief position; elevated: lofty: eminent; distinguished; foremost; principal; as, great men; the great seal; the great marshal, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

He doth object I am too great of birth. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. Entitled to earnest consideration; weighty; important; as, a great argument, truth, or principle. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. Pregnant; big (with young). [ 1913 Webster ]

The ewes great with young. Ps. lxxviii. 71. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. More than ordinary in degree; very considerable in degree; as, to use great caution; to be in great pain. [ 1913 Webster ]

We have all
Great cause to give great thanks. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The whole; the gross; as, a contract to build a ship by the great. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having a great belly; bigbellied; pregnant; teeming. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An overcoat. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To make great; to aggrandize; to cause to increase in size; to expand. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A minister's [ business ] is to greaten and exalt [ his king ]. Ken. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To become large; to dilate. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

My blue eyes greatening in the looking-glass. Mrs. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. [ superl. of great. ] 1. not to be surpassed.
Syn. -- top. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. largest in size of those under consideration.
Syn. -- biggest, largest. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. most of. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

4. highest in importance or degree or significance or achievement; most eminent; as, our greatest statesmen.
Syn. -- leading(prenominal), preeminent. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

5. highest in quality.
Syn. -- sterling(prenominal), superlative. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. The child of one's grandson or granddaughter. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Great, 10. ] A daughter of one's grandson or granddaughter. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Great, 10. ] The father of one's grandfather or grandmother. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The mother of one's grandfather or grandmother. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Great, 10. ] A son of one's grandson or granddaughter. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. High-spirited; fearless. [ Obs. ] Clarendon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Generous; magnanimous; noble. [ wns=1 ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being greathearted; high-mindedness; magnanimity. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. 1. In a great degree; much. [ 1913 Webster ]

I will greatly multiply thy sorrow. Gen. iii. 16. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Nobly; illustriously; magnanimously. [ 1913 Webster ]

By a high fate thou greatly didst expire. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a son of a niece or nephew.
Syn. -- grandnephew. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ AS. greátnes. ] 1. The state, condition, or quality of being great; as, greatness of size, greatness of mind, power, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Pride; haughtiness. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

It is not of pride or greatness that he cometh not aboard your ships. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a daughter of one's niece or nephew.
Syn. -- grandniece. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. an uncle of one's father or mother.
Syn. -- granduncle. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

. a large shark (Carcharodon carcharias, class Chondrichtyes) usually found in warm seas. When young it is bluish but it becomes white with age. It grows to over 15 feet in length and is feared as a man-eater. Also called white shark and great white. [ PJC ]

. Broadway, in New York City, in the neighborhood chiefly occupied by theaters, as from about 30th Street to about 50th Street; -- so called from its brilliant illumination at night. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

v. t. To make great; to enlarge; to magnify. [ Obs. ] Fotherby.

a. Too great. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Excessive greatness. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having the circumference of a tun. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]