<B>grease gun,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a tubelike device with a handle and piston, used to force grease into bearings on automobiles, machinery, etc. </DL>
<A NAME="greaseheels">
<B>grease-heels, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an inflammation of a horse's skin on or below the fetlocks, accompanied by an oily secretion. </DL>
<A NAME="greasemonkey">
<B>grease monkey,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Slang.) an automobile or airplane mechanic. </DL>
<A NAME="greasepaint">
<B>grease paint,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a mixture of tallow or hard grease and a pigment, used by actors in painting their faces. <DD><B> 2. </B>any makeup used by actors. </DL>
<A NAME="greasepencil">
<B>grease pencil,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a drawing pencil having a core of grease and pigment enclosed in paper. <BR> <I>Ex. She outlined her eyes with black grease pencil (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="greaseproof">
<B>greaseproof, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that will not absorb grease. </DL>
<A NAME="greaser">
<B>greaser, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person or thing that greases. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Informal.) a cackling goose. <DD><B> 3. </B>(U.S. Slang.) <DD><B> a. </B>a foreigner; greaseball (used in an unfriendly way). <DD><B> b. </B>a hot-rodder. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Slang.) an obnoxious person. <DD><B> 5. </B>(British.) a ship's engineer. </DL>
<A NAME="greasetable">
<B>grease table,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a set of three sloping aluminum steps covered with grease for sifting out mined diamonds from other stones. A concentrate of stones is washed down the steps by a stream of water and the diamonds adhere to the grease. </DL>
<A NAME="greasewood">
<B>greasewood, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a stiff, prickly shrub of the goosefoot family with narrow leaves, growing in alkaline regions in the western United States and Canada; chico. It is valuable cattle and sheep food, and also contains some oil and is used for fuel. <DD><B> 2. </B>any one of various similar shrubs. </DL>
<A NAME="greasy">
<B>greasy, </B>adjective, <B>greasier,</B> <B>greasiest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having grease on it; smeared, covered, or soiled with grease. <BR> <I>Ex. The automobile mechanic took off his greasy coveralls.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>containing much grease or fat. <BR> <I>Ex. Greasy food is hard to digest.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>like grease; smooth and slippery. <BR> <I>Ex. Some coins have a greasy feel to them.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) disagreeably unctuous; oily. <DD><B> 5. </B>(of a horse) having grease-heels. adv. <B>greasily.</B> noun <B>greasiness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="greasyspoon">
<B>greasy spoon,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Especially U.S. Slang.) a cheap, unsanitary restaurant. <BR> <I>Ex. Julie, working at Barona's dingy little greasy spoon ... dishing up chow for small-town customers (Canadian Forum).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="great">
<B>great, </B>adjective, adverb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>big; large in extent, amount, size, or number. <BR> <I>Ex. a great house, a great crowd.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>more than usual; much. <BR> <I>Ex. great pain, great kindness, great ignorance, a great rise in temperature.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>loud. <BR> <I>Ex. a great noise.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>important; high in rank; remarkable; famous. <BR> <I>Ex. a great singer, a great event, a great picture, a great achievement.</I> (SYN) renowned, eminent, distinguished. <DD><B> 5. </B>most important; main; chief. <BR> <I>Ex. the great seal, the great attraction.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>noble; generous. <BR> <I>Ex. a great heart, great deeds.</I> (SYN) magnanimous. <DD><B> 7. </B>much in use; favorite. <BR> <I>Ex. His great sport was fishing. That is a great habit of his.</I> <DD><B> 8. </B>very much of a. <BR> <I>Ex. a great talker.</I> <DD><B> 9. </B>(Informal.) very good; fine. <BR> <I>Ex. We had a great time at the party.</I> (SYN) first-rate, excellent. <DD><B> 10. </B>(Informal.) skillful; expert. <BR> <I>Ex. to be great at mathematics. She is great at skiing.</I> <DD><B> 11. </B>(in names of relationship) of the next generation before or after. <BR> <I>Ex. a great-grandmother, great-grandson.</I> <DD><B> 12. </B>that is distinguished by its large size from other plants or animals of the same genus. <DD><B> 13. </B>(Archaic or Dialect.) pregnant. <DD><I>adv. </I> (Informal.) very well. <BR> <I>Ex. You're doing great. Things are going great with her. I'm feeling great.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> (Informal.) a great person; person who is famous or important. <BR> <I>Ex. ... England's Peter Radford, another great who shares the official world record for the 220 yards (Maclean's).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>by the great,</B> </I>(Dialect.) (of work done) at a fixed price for the whole amount; by the piece. <BR> <I>Ex. A merchant ... sells commodities of good cheer by the great (Thomas Nashe).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>greats,</B> </I>(British Informal.) at Oxford University: <DD><B> a. </B>the course in the classics or humanities. <DD><B> b. </B>Also, formerly, <B>great go.</B> the final examination for the degree of Bachelor of Arts, now especially, for honors in the classics or humanities. <BR><I>expr. <B>the greats</B> (or <B>great</B>), </I>great or distinguished people; celebrities. <BR> <I>Ex. All the greats of show business have appeared at the Palace. He belongs among the great of his generation.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="greatanteater">
<B>great anteater,</B> =ant bear.</DL>
<A NAME="greatape">
<B>great ape,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any anthropoid ape. <BR> <I>Ex. The living great apes (the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan) are assigned, with their ancestors, to the family Pongidae (Ian Tattersall).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="greatauk">
<B>great auk,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large, black-and-white, flightless sea bird formerly of North Atlantic shores, now extinct; garefowl. </DL>
<A NAME="greataunt">
<B>great-aunt, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an aunt of a person's father or mother; grandaunt. </DL>
<A NAME="greatawakening">
<B>Great Awakening,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a series of religious revivals among Protestants in the American Colonies, especially in New England during the 1700's, that had a strong influence on American religious life. </DL>
<A NAME="greatbarracuda">
<B>great barracuda,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large barracuda found mainly in the West Indies and off the coasts of the southeastern United States and Brazil. </DL>
<A NAME="greatbear">
<B>Great Bear,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the northern constellation Ursa Major, containing the seven bright stars forming the Big Dipper. </DL>
<A NAME="greatbirdofparadise">
<B>great bird of paradise,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a bird of paradise about the size of a crow. The male has an emerald-green forehead and throat, a golden-yellow head, maroon wings and tail, and a dense mass of plumes about two feet long that springs from under the wings. </DL>
<A NAME="greatblackbackedgull">
<B>great black-backed gull,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a very large gull with black wings and back, found along the Atlantic Coast. </DL>
<A NAME="greatblueheron">
<B>great blue heron,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large, slate-colored American heron, standing about four feet tall, and found as far north as Canada. </DL>
<A NAME="greatcalorie">
<B>great calorie,</B> =large calorie.</DL>
<A NAME="greatcircle">
<B>great circle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any circle on the surface of a sphere having its plane passing through the center of the sphere. The equator is one of the great circles of the earth. <DD><B> 2. </B>an arc of such a circle; the line of shortest distance between two points on the earth's surface. </DL>
<A NAME="greatcircleroute">
<B>great-circle route,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the shortest, most direct route between two points on the earth's surface, by traveling along a great circle of the earth. </DL>
<A NAME="greatcirclesailing">
<B>great-circle sailing,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> sailing on a course along a great circle of the earth, the shortest route. </DL>
<A NAME="greatcoat">
<B>greatcoat, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a heavy overcoat. </DL>
<A NAME="greatcommoner">
<B>great commoner,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a nickname applied to various British and American political leaders for their championship of the rights of the common man, including the first William Pitt, William E. Gladstone, William Jennings Bryan, and Thaddeus Stevens. </DL>
<A NAME="greatcouncil">
<B>great council,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>in English history: <DD><B> a. </B>an assembly under the Norman kings of chief tenants and prelates, out of which the House of Lords evolved. <DD><B> b. </B>a general assembly of the barons or peers of later times. <DD><B> 2. </B>a national assembly of certain countries, such as the Cortes of Spain or Portugal. <DD><B> 3. </B>(U.S.) a deliberative body composed of Indian chiefs or leaders. </DL>
<A NAME="greatcrestedflycatcher">
<B>great crested flycatcher,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the crested flycatcher of North and Central America. </DL>
<A NAME="greatcrestedgrebe">
<B>great crested grebe,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an old-world grebe with a dark crown, pink bill, and conspicuous black tufts on the sides of the head. It is the largest grebe. </DL>
<A NAME="greatdane">
<B>Great Dane,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a breed of very large, powerful, short-haired dogs. </DL>
<A NAME="greatdipper">
<B>Great Dipper,</B> =Big Dipper.</DL>
<A NAME="greatdivide">
<B>Great Divide,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the great ridge of the Rocky Mountains in North America; the Continental Divide. <DD><B> 2. </B>Often, <B>great divide.</B> <DD><B> a. </B>any divide; watershed. <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative.) a main dividing line. <BR> <I>Ex. On Great Heron, the great divide is not between rich and poor; there are no poor (Time).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>cross the Great Divide,</B> </I>(U.S. Informal.) to die. <BR> <I>Ex. I am still residing in Portland, Oregon, ... where I hope to remain until I cross the Great Divide (Harry Young).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="greatdog">
<B>Great Dog,</B> =Canis Major.</DL>
<A NAME="greaten">
<B>greaten,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) <DD><I>v.t. </I> to make great or greater; increase; enlarge. <BR> <I>Ex. everything concurred to greaten the fire (Samuel Pepys).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to become great or greater. <BR> <I>Ex. Life greatens in these later years (John Greenleaf Whittier).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="greatenglishvowelshift">
<B>Great English Vowel Shift,</B> =Great Vowel Shift.</DL>
<A NAME="greatennead">
<B>Great Ennead,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a family of nine gods of ancient Egypt, consisting of Atum, Geb, Isis, Nephthys, Nut, Osiris, Set, Shu, and Tefnut. </DL>
