Meanings
- comparativecomparative form of great: more great; of two (or, rarely or non-standardly, more than two) things, larger in size (bigger), in value, in importance etc.
While the north of the country has been dry, there is a greater need for rain in the south.
1 more example
The San Juan market is Mexico City's most famous deli of exotic meats, where an adventurous shopper can hunt down hard-to-find critters such as ostrich, wild boar and crocodile. Only the city zoo offers greater species diversity.
2013 July 26, Nick Miroff, “Mexico gets a taste for eating insects as chefs put bugs back on the menu”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 7, page 32Antonyms: lesser
- Denotes the larger geographic or administrative area that encompasses or belongs to a place (especially if both share the same name).
Greater Antilles
1 more example
GMRLC is a regional consortium of medium-size research libraries (17 in 1995) located in the greater Midwest.
1997, Virginia Boucher, “Interlibrary Cooperation”, in Interlibrary Loan Practices Handbook, 2nd edition, →ISBN, page 98, column 1Antonyms: lesser
- capitalizedusuallyDenotes inclusion of the surrounding urban areas and conurbation (of a city or other large settlement).
Greater London
5 more examples
Greater New York includes adjacent parts of three states, as well as the City itself.
“Greater London!” What a vague and ill-defined term! We all known London proper, comprising of the City and Westminster, and making up one metropolis.
1883, Edward Walford, Greater London: A Narrative of its History, its People, and its Places, volume 1, London: Cassell & Company, page 1[…]statistics revealing that while greater Tokyo has a total area that represents only 3.6 percent of the total land available[…]more than 25 percent of the country's population live there.
1990, Chikara Higashi, Geza Peter Lauter, The Internationalization of the Japanese Economy, →ISBN, page 285The rate in isolated counties was about a third higher than in the greater metropolitan counties.
2004, Janet Golden, Richard Alan Meckel, Heather Munro Prescott, Children and Youth in Sickness and in Health: A Historical Handbook and Guide, →ISBN, page 201In February 2010, the largest high—concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) solar power plant in Asia began operation in Lujhu, located in the Greater Kaohsiung area.
2013, Peter Newman, Anne Matan, “The Renewable Energy City”, in Green Urbanism in Asia: The Emerging Green Tigers, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 41Antonyms: lesser
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivecomparative form of great: more great; of two (or, rarely or non-standardly, more than two) things, larger in size (bigger), in value, in importance etc.
adjectiveIn plant and animal names, denotes a larger kind.
adjectiveDenotes the larger geographic or administrative area that encompasses or belongs to a place (especially if both share the same name).
adjectiveDenotes inclusion of the surrounding urban areas and conurbation (of a city or other large settlement).
adjectiveDenotes a state at its fullest historical (or desired future) extent including colonies, annexed land, etc.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivegreater in size or importance or degree
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic أَكْبَر, كُبْرَى
- أَكْبَر (ʔakbar)of two things, the larger in size, value, importance etc
- كُبْرَى (kubrā)of two things, the larger in size, value, importance etc
Chinese Mandarin 大, 大
- 大 (dà)area with surrounding region
- 大 (dà)of two things, the larger in size, value, importance etc
Danish Stor-
- Stor-area with surrounding region
Finnish suur-, suuri
- suur-area with surrounding region
- suuriof two things, the larger in size, value, importance etc
- suurempiof two things, the larger in size, value, importance etc
French grand
- grandarea with surrounding region
German Groß-, groß
- Groß-area with surrounding region
- großof two things, the larger in size, value, importance etc
Hebrew רבתי
- רבתי (rabati)area with surrounding region
Russian большо́й
- большо́й (bolʹšój)area with surrounding region
Spanish mayor, más grande / importante / grandioso
- mayorof two things, the larger in size, value, importance etc
- más grande / importante / grandiosoof two things, the larger in size, value, importance etc
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with greater
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
greater. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/greater
“greater.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/greater. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “greater,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/greater.
Source: greater on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.