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# great

adjective (great, greater, greatest); adverb greatly; noun (the greats — famous people); informal exclamation (Great!)

«great» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Great means very good or excellent: a great idea. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/great/#m1)
2. Great means very large in size or amount: a great big dog, a great deal. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/great/#m2)
3. Great can mean important or famous: a great writer. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/great/#m3)
4. In family words, great means one more generation away: great-grandma is your grandma's mother. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/great/#m4)

### In the lessons

In stories «great» describes size (a great castle) or importance (a great king). In everyday talk «Great!» means «Very good!» but can be said sarcastically when something goes wrong. In maths «greater than» means bigger and is written «\>»: 7 \> 4. Phrases: a great deal of, great big, Great Britain, a great time, greater than, great-grandfather.

### Examples

- We had a great time at the beach. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/great/#x1)
- That's a great idea! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/great/#x2)
- Seven is greater than four. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/great/#x3)
- A great big elephant walked past. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/great/#x4)
- My great-grandma is ninety years old. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/great/#x5)
- He was a great inventor. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/great/#x6)
- Oh, great, it's raining again! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/great/#x7)
- The Great Barrier Reef is off the coast of Australia. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/great/#x8)
- "And what great eyes you have!" [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/great/#x9)

### Note

Comparison: great, greater, greatest. In maths: «greater than» (\>), «less than» (\<); «the greatest number» is the biggest. Do not confuse with «grate» (to shred cheese, or the metal frame in a fireplace), which sounds the same. Great-grandparents: your parents' grandparents.

## In Jewish tradition

It often describes God, who is called the great God, and great things done by God, such as the great wonders of Egypt.

**Interpretation.** God's greatness is part of the prayers, such as the Amidah's opening words, the great, mighty and awesome God. The great owl is one of the unclean birds.

### Examples

- And the stone upon the well's mouth was great. (Torah GEN.29.2, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/G/great/#x1)
- and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl; (Torah LEV.11.17, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/G/great/#x2)
- the little owl, and the great owl, and the horned owl; (Torah DEU.14.16, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/G/great/#x3)
- And there was very great gladness. (Writings NEH.8.17, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/G/great/#x4)
- How great are Thy works, O LORD! (Writings PSA.92.6, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/G/great/#x5)
- How great is the sum of them! (Writings PSA.139.17, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/G/great/#x6)

### Note

Comparison: great, greater, greatest. In maths: «greater than» (\>), «less than» (\<); «the greatest number» is the biggest. Do not confuse with «grate» (to shred cheese, or the metal frame in a fireplace), which sounds the same. Great-grandparents: your parents' grandparents.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «great» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/great/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«great» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/great.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «great» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/G/great/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«great» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/great.html) on Mova free.