Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- An island off the western coast of Europe comprising England, Scotland, and Wales, and constituting the largest part of the United Kingdom. It is separated from the mainland by the English Channel and from Ireland by the Irish Sea.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun The island (and sometimes including some of the surrounding smaller islands) off the north-west coast of Europe made up of
England ,Scotland andWales . - proper noun historical shortened form of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain (1707-1801) Abbreviation:GB . - proper noun the
UK .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; `Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom
- noun an island comprising England and Scotland and Wales
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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On this day in 1997, "The people's princess" was the label Great Britain's newly elected
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But an enemy fleet strong enough to shut off Great Britain from the short cuts north and south of Ireland would certainly be strong enough to command the roundabout way as well; for it would be close to its base on the west coast of Ireland, while ships coming round by the north of Scotland would be far from their own.
Flag and Fleet How the British Navy Won the Freedom of the Seas William Charles Henry Wood 1905
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Steele, the rogue, has done the imprudentest thing in the world: he said something in a Tatler, [20] that we ought to use the word Great Britain, and not England, in common conversation, as, "The finest lady in Great Britain," etc.
The Journal to Stella Swift, Jonathan, 1667-1745 1901
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Steele, the rogue, has done the imprudentest thing in the world: he said something in a Tatler, [20] that we ought to use the word Great Britain, and not England, in common conversation, as, "The finest lady in Great Britain," etc.
The Journal to Stella Jonathan Swift 1706
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In a letter written on Aug. 8, 1738, again mentioning England, he adds, ” 'Pox on the modern phrase Great Britain, which is only to distinguish it from Little Britain, where old clothes and old books are to be bought and sold' (Swift's Works, 1803, xx.
Life Of Johnson Boswell, James, 1740-1795 1887
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In a country such as Great Britain, which is well advanced in the art of self-government, intolerant and indiscriminate abuse of public men defeats its own object, and misstatements of matters of fact can be at once exposed and refuted.
Forty-one years in India From Subaltern To Commander-In-Chief Frederick Sleigh Roberts
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We steamed close alongside the 'Great Britain' -- which has for some time been the crack ship between Australia and England.
A Boy's Voyage Round the World Samuel Smiles 1858
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Steele, the rogue, has done the imprudentest thing in the world: he said something in a Tatler, [20] that we ought to use the word Great Britain, and not England, in common conversation, as, “The finest lady in Great
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The austere times — shared by Great Britain, which is not a member of the eurozone but has begun a program of deficit reduction — can't be good for the U.S. economy, either.
Ireland's debt crisis, austerity offer a lesson for Obama 2011
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The Guardian style guide counsels against using mainland to refer to Great Britain in reports about Northern Ireland Not the end of history yet, 4 April, page 30.
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