greatest

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˈgreɪtɪst/ 🇺🇸 /ˈgreɪtəst/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Superlative form of 'great'; of the highest degree, magnitude, or intensity; surpassing all others in size, extent, or amount.; Superlative form of 'great'; of the highest quality, excellence, or merit; most distinguished or eminent.; Superlative form of 'great'; most important, significant, or influential.; Superlative form of 'great'; most intense or extreme in degree.
  2. noun
    A person or thing that is the most outstanding or excellent of its kind; one who is preeminent in a particular field.
  3. adjective
    Superlative form of 'great'; largest in number or quantity.; Superlative form of 'great'; most distant or remote in space or time.; Superlative form of 'great'; most powerful or mighty.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: greats Comparative: greater, more great Superlative: greatest, most great

Collocations

great dealgreat importancegreat successgreat powergreat mindsno great shakes

Derivatives

greatlygreatnessgreat-grandfathergreat-grandmothergreat-unclegreat-aunt

Synonyms

excellentoutstandingremarkablemagnificentsuperbwonderful

Antonyms

terribleawfulpoormediocre

Commonly confused

grand
EN: 'Grand' implies impressive scale or dignity; 'great' is more general, covering excellence, size, or importance.
big
EN: 'Big' refers primarily to physical size; 'great' can denote size but more often implies quality, importance, or distinction.

Spelling tips

EN: Note the irregular comparative and superlative forms: 'greater' and 'greatest' (not 'more great' or 'most great' in standard usage).

💬 Examples

  1. The greatest mountain in the world is Mount Everest.

  2. Shakespeare is often considered the greatest playwright in the English language.

  3. The greatest challenge facing humanity is climate change.

  4. She felt the greatest joy when her child was born.

  5. Muhammad Ali was known as 'The Greatest' in the world of boxing.

  6. The greatest number of votes was cast for the incumbent candidate.

  7. The greatest distance between two points on Earth is measured along the equator.

  8. The Roman Empire was once the greatest power in the Western world.