greatest
English meaning: Greatest
Definition
Relatively large in scale, size, extent, number (i.e. having many parts or members) or duration (i.e. relatively long); very big.
Example
“A great storm is approaching our shores.”
Another example: “Overcoming her fear of flying was her greatest personal achievement.”
Usage — When, Where & How
The superlative of 'great', a neutral-to-emphatic adjective meaning largest in degree or, more often, finest or most outstanding ('the greatest player'). Very common in praise, sports, and music ('greatest hits'). Usually preceded by 'the'.
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From Old English 'greatost', superlative of 'great' (big, coarse), of West Germanic origin; in use since before the 12th century.
Synonyms
Antonyms / Opposites
Related Words
Common Collocations
- greatest hits
- greatest of all time
- one of the greatest
- greatest achievement
- greatest fear
- world's greatest
Word Forms
great (adj); greater (comp); greatest (superl); greatness (n)
Word Tools
Tools & Calculators
15% of 200 = 30 · 15 is 7.5% of 200
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
CC-licensed · free to useVideo
Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B