Home / Dictionary / Greater

Greater Common

Greater has 2 different meanings across 1 category:

Adjective

Definitions
Adjective
1

greater in size or importance or degree

"for the greater good of the community"

"the greater Antilles"

2

comparative form of great: more great

"The greater the effort you put into studying, the higher your grades will be."

In plain English: Greater means bigger, stronger, or more important than something else.

"The greater number of students passed the exam this year."

Usage: Use "greater" to describe something that has a higher degree of importance, size, or intensity than another thing. It functions strictly as a comparative adjective and should not be used to mean "larger" when referring to physical dimensions unless comparing magnitude in an abstract sense.

Example Sentences
"The greater number of students passed the exam this year." adj
"The greater number of students passed the exam this year." adj
"Her father is much greater in height than her mother." adj
"We need to show greater care when handling fragile items." adj
Related Terms
Antonyms
lesser

Origin

The word greater is simply a comparative form of good that has traveled into English from Old French and Latin. It originally meant "more excellent" or "superior," but its usage expanded over time to describe anything larger in size, amount, or degree.

Rhyming Words
ter ater ster tter iter uter citer oater later vater gater after oster enter beter tater miter voter deter opter
Compare
Greater vs