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

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

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 ]