Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - great

~ adj »VERY GOOD« 1 spoken a) very good; excellent  (We had a great time at the fair. | You can come after all? Great! | It's great to see you again!) b) used when you really think that something is not good, satisfactory or enjoyable at all  ("Daniel's cancelled the party." "Oh great!") 2 »IN GOOD HEALTH« feeling well and happy  (I feel great this morning!) 3 »SKILFUL/SUCCESSFUL« a) considered to be one of the best in the world and therefore admired by many people  (a great work of art | one of the greatest boxers of all time) b) able to do something well + a  (Joanna's great at chess.) 4 the greats the most famous and successful performers, especially in sport or entertainment  (the all-time greats)  (Charlie Chaplin is one of the all-time cinema greats.) 5 be no great shakes to not be very good or skilful  (Alex thinks he's an ace at tennis, but he's no great shakes.) 6 »VERY SUITABLE« informal to be very useful or suitable for something + for  (This knife's great for peeling vegetables.) 7 go great guns informal to do something very fast and successfully  (Their campaign began slowly, but now they're going great guns.) »A LOT/VERY« MUCH 8 great care/pleasure/strength etc a lot of care etc  (Take great care with those glasses. | It gives me great pleasure to introduce tonight's speaker.) 9 a great deal a lot  (I've travelled a great deal.) + of  (I have a great deal of work right now.) 10 a great number/quantity/extent etc a very large number etc  (Agnes survived the accident and went on to live to a great age. (=she was very old when she died) | the great many (=very many) | the great majority (=almost all))  (a proposal supported by the great majority of members) 11 great friend/admirer etc a very good friend, a very keen admirer etc 12 be a great one for writing/sailing/football etc BrE to enjoy writing, sailing, football etc very much  (Adam's a great one for football - he never misses a match.) 13 a great talker/reader etc someone who enjoys doing a lot of talking, reading etc LARGE 14 »VERY LARGE« very large and impressive  (The great northern plain is divided by two rivers. | a great herd of buffalo)  (- see big) 15 great big/stupid/fat etc spoken used to emphasize how big, stupid etc something or someone is  (They live in a great big house.) 16 huge/enormous great BrE spoken used to emphasize how big something is  (There's a huge great spider in the bath.) »IMPORTANT« 17 »IMPORTANT« only before noun especially important or serious  (a great state occasion | the great political issues of our time) 18 the great advantage of/the great thing about the most important advantage of something  (The great thing about nylon is that it's extremely tough.) 19 »HAVING INFLUENCE« having a lot of influence or power as a result of what you have achieved  (We must strive to make our country great again. | the great man himself) 20 the Great used in the name or title of someone or something to show their importance  (King Alfred the Great) 21 the great and the good formal or humorous people who are considered important FAMILY 22 great-grandmother/great-grandfather etc the grandmother etc of one of your parents 23 great-granddaughter/great-nephew etc the granddaughter, nephew etc of your child »OTHER MEANINGS« 24 Great Scott/Great Heavens! old-fashioned used to express surprise 25 Greater used before the name of a city to mean the city and its outer areas  (Greater Manchester) 26 be great with child biblical to be pregnant - greatness n