great
Usage
What are other ways to say great?
In reference to the size and extent of concrete objects, great is highly formal and even poetic, suggesting also that the object is notable or imposing, large is only somewhat formal, and big is the most general and most colloquial word: a great oak; a large tree; a big tree; great plains; a large field; a big field. When the reference is to degree or a quality, great is the usual word: great beauty; great mistake; great surprise; although big sometimes alternates with it in colloquial style: a big mistake; a big surprise; large is usually not used in reference to degree, but may be used in a quantitative reference: a large number (great number).
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb seems to take great delight in insulting you, especially after the politician River was supposed to protect gets hit on the head by a pot of paint and dies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Once the disruption caused by the pandemic subsided, she was ready to kick on in 2022 and lined up ready to test herself against Jamaican great Elaine Thompson-Herah at an indoor meeting in Birmingham.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
“We go to great lengths not to sell them.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
It wasn’t great on the body, but yeah, I’ve had a lot of experience running.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
I’ve made a list of the ten great concert halls around the globe that I want to play in someday.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Through 1953 National League Rookie of the Year Jim Gilliam, who spent three seasons with the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro Leagues before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers, Baker met several Negro League greats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"That's why you have some of the greats in women's sports. If Title IX and women's sports weren't protected, then you wouldn't hear about any type of women in sport."
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Yet the lasting images from both tournaments are of all-time greats such as Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi dancing on the field.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
After Argentina's dramatic 3-2 win over Egypt in the last 16, players were filmed singing a chant referencing the islands and Argentina greats Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
I looked to the wall of old basketball greats.
From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben
Fraud, a greater value placed on insider knowledge, and a longer shelf life for bad corporate strategy would be “bogies of the slower reporting cycle,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
"At the same time, we see the exact opposite direction demographically" as religious Jews become a greater proportion of the population, she said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
The Chosen Ones Espenson cites are part of a destiny ordained either by their bloodline or some greater lineage.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Evolutionary theory therefore proposed that females might sometimes gain a greater evolutionary advantage by helping raise their sisters than by producing offspring of their own.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
Anger pulses through my veins as the morning sun gets higher, and I walk with greater determination, pulling the donkey and Mother along with me.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
When creating the presidency, one of the Framers’ greatest worries was that holders of the new office would break through all the anti-monarchical provisions of the Constitution to become autocrats.
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
The men and women serving in this strike group are truly America’s latest greatest generation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
That football lovers should want to show a connection with arguably the greatest player of all time comes as no surprise - likewise his long-term rival in the now-distinct yellow of Al-Nassr.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Because their bodies are still developing, younger generations are expected to experience the greatest lifetime exposure to elevated atmospheric CO2.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
“Would I have ever predicted that Charlie Ledley would have anticipated the greatest financial crisis since the Depression?” he said.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Vocabulary lists containing great
Spelling Practice, Unit 8
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Spelling Practice, Unit 8
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Spelling Practice 1, Unit 5
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