GREATEST

greatest, sterling, superlative

(adjective) highest in quality

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Adjective

greatest

superlative form of great: most great

Source: Wiktionary


GREAT

Great, a. [Compar. Greater (; superl. Greatest.] Etym: [OE. gret, great, AS. gret; akin to OS. & LG. grt, D. groot, OHG. grz, 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; formost; 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 de scent; as, great-grandfather (a grandfather's or a grand- mother'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.

– 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.

Great, n.

Definition: The whole.; the gross; as, a contract to build a ship by the great.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

11 May 2025

MALLET

(noun) a light drumstick with a rounded head that is used to strike such percussion instruments as chimes, kettledrums, marimbas, glockenspiels, etc.


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Espresso is both a coffee beverage and a brewing method that originated in Italy. When making an espresso, a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure forces through finely-ground coffee beans. It has more caffeine per unit volume than most coffee beverages. Its smaller serving size will take three shots to equal a mug of standard brewed coffee.

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