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green
Great·er /'greɪtə/ used before the name of a city to mean
the city itself and its outer areas: a company based in the
Greater Buffalo area
,Greater 'London London and the area surrounding it,
which used to be a local government area
,Greater ,London Au'thority, the → see GLA, THE
,Greater 'Manchester an URBAN (=relating to a city) area
which consists of 10 METROPOLITAN BOROUGHS (=parts of a
very large city that are responsible for managing their own
schools, hospitals, roads etc) in and around Manchester
,Great Exhi'bition, the a large EXHIBITION held in Hyde
Park in 1851. It was the idea of Queen Victoria's husband,
Prince Albert, and it was intended to show modern achieve-
ments in industry, science, and TECHNOLOGY. The exhibition
took place in a large glass building called the 'Crystal Palace'.
,Great Expec'tations (1861) a novel by Charles DICKENS
about a young man called Pip who wants to become rich
and successful. He is given money by an unknown person,
and as a result he becomes a less nice person, but after
several difficult experiences, he finally realizes that he must
work hard to make enough money to live well, and he
becomes a kind, generous man.
,Great Fire of 'London, the a very serious fire that
destroyed most of the city of London, including the old St
Paul's Cathedral, in September 1666. Most British people
know that the fire started in a baker's shop in Pudding Lane.
In spite of all the damage it caused, very few people were
killed in the fire. → see picture on page A47
Great Gats·by, The /ˌgreɪt 'gætsbi/ (1925) a novel by F.
Scott FITZGERALD about the relationship between a man
called Jay Gatsby and a married woman called Daisy Bucha-
nan. It describes how bored and disappointed people in New
York were during the 1920s even though they seemed
GLAMOROUS (=rich, exciting, and attractive) and happy. It
was also made into a film in 1974.
,Great 'Lakes, the a group of five lakes along the border
between the US and Canada. These lakes are Lake SUPERIOR,
Lake MICHIGAN, Lake HURON, Lake ERIE, and Lake ONTARIO.
They are connected to form the ST LAWRENCE SEAWAY which
can be used by large ships. The lakes and especially NIAGARA
FALLS are also popular with tourists.
,Great Leap 'Forward, the an attempt by the Chinese
government, led by MAO ZEDONG, to achieve very rapid
industrial development between 1958 and 1960.
great·ly /'greɪtli/ adv (with verb forms, especially past parti-
ciples) to a large degree; very: Her reading has improved
greatly since she changed schools. | The effects of this policy
have been greatly exaggerated by its opponents.
Great Or·mond Street Hos·pi·tal /greɪt ˌɔːmənd striːt
'hɒspɪtl||ˌɔːr- -'hæ-/ a famous children's hospital in
London
,Great 'Plains, the a large area of flat, high land in the
western central US
,Great Rift 'Valley, the a very deep, wide valley which is
3000 miles long and runs across most of East Africa and into
southwest Asia
,Great Salt 'Lake, the a lake in the US state of Utah
which is about 70 miles long and has strong salt water
,Great Seal of the U·nited 'States, the the official
SEAL (=special circle-shaped design) printed on important
documents, used to prove that a document is from the US
government. The seal has two sides, and on one side is a
picture of a BALD EAGLE (=the national bird of the US), and
on the other side is a picture of a PYRAMID with an eye above
it. Both designs are printed on the back of a one-dollar BILL.
Great 'Smoky 'Mountains, the also the ,Great
'Smokies, the Smokies a RANGE of mountains along
the border between the US states of North Carolina and
Tennessee
,Great 'Train ,Robbery, the an event in 1963 when a
group of criminals robbed a British mail train and stole over
£2 million, which at that time was the largest amount of
money ever stolen in the UK. One of the 'Great Train
Robbers', Ronald BIGGS, escaped from prison in England and
lived in Brazil for 35 years. He returned to the UK in 2001 and
was arrested and put in prison.
,Great ,Universal 'Stores abbrev. GUS trademark a British
MAIL ORDER company
,Great ,Wall of 'China, the a large strong wall that is over
2000 kilometres long and which was built across northern
China to protect the country against enemy armies. It was
originally built in the 3rd century BC, but only a few parts
of that original wall remain, and most of the wall we see
today was built in the 15th and 16th centuries. Many people
think that it is the only structure built by humans that can
be seen from space, but this is not true.
,Great 'War, the an old-fashioned name for WORLD WAR I
,Great 'Western 1 the main railway company in south-
west England 2 the Great Western a PADDLE STEAMER built
in 1838 by Isambard Kingdom BRUNEL. It was the first
steamship made specially to carry passengers across the Atlan-
tic Ocean.
,Great Western 'Railway, the a British railway built by
Isambard Kingdom BRUNEL and opened in 1841 to connect
London and Bristol
,Great White 'Way, the a NICKNAME for BROADWAY in New
York City, which is called this because of the large number
of bright lights along it
grebe /griːb/ n a bird rather like a duck but with separate
toes, which can swim under water in lakes and rivers
Gre·cian /'griːʃən/ adj lit from ancient Greece, or having a
style or appearance that is considered typical of ancient
Greece
Gre·co-, Graeco- /grɪkəʊ, grekəʊ/ prefix 1 .of ancient
Greece; Greek 2 ancient Greek and something else: Greco-
Roman art
Greco, El → see EL GRECO
Greece /griːs/ a country in southeast Europe on the Mediter-
ranean Sea, which is a member of the EU. Population:
10,665,989 (2003). Capital: Athens. Ancient Greek political
ideas, PHILOSOPHY, art, architecture, literature, and science
have had a great influence on how people in Europe live and
think. Greece, and especially the many Greek islands, attract
large numbers of tourists.
greed /griːd/ n [U]for] derog a strong desire to have a lot
of something, especially food, money, or power, often in a
way that is selfish or unfair to other people: It was pure
greed that made me finish all those chocolates. | The specula-
tors' greed (for profit) has left several small investors penni-
less.
greed·y /'griːdi/ adj 1 usually derog full of greed for food: Don't
be so greedy — leave some of the food for the rest of us. | You
greedy pig! 2 [F+for] full of a strong desire (for): greedy for
power/fame —ily adv —iness n [U]
'greedy-guts n infml, especially BrE (used especially by children)
a person who likes to eat too much; GLUTTON
Greek¹ /griːk/ n 1 [U] the language of modern or ancient
Greece 2 [C] someone from Greece 3 [C] AmE a member of a
SORORITY or FRATERNITY at an American college or univer-
sity 4 it's all Greek to me infml used to say that you cannot
understand something 5 beware (of) Greeks bearing gifts
old-fash something people say as a warning not to trust
someone who is being kind to you because they may
secretly be trying to harm you. The expression comes from
the ancient Greek story of the Trojan horse.
Greek² adj from or connected with Greece
,Greek 'god n a very attractive man: He's not exactly a Greek
god, but he's very nice.
,Greek Orthodox 'Church, the the main group of
Christian churches in Eastern Europe and southwest Asia,
which was formed in the 11th century by separating from
the Catholic Church. The Russian Orthodox Church, the
main Christian group in Russia, is closely related. The
orthodox church is known for its very complicated religious
ceremonies in which the words are mostly sung rather than
spoken. → see also ORTHODOX CHURCH —,Greek 'Ortho-
dox adj: a Greek Orthodox priest
green¹ /griːn/ adj 1 of a colour between yellow and blue,
which is the colour of leaves and grass: The countryside is
very green (=covered in fresh grass and leaves) in spring. | A
green salad has only green vegetables, such as lettuce and
cucumber. | When the traffic lights turn green you can go. | I