great Scott

/ɡɹeɪt skɒt/

//ɡɹeɪt skɒt// intj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"great-scott" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“great Scott” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An exclamation of surprise or amazement

Corpus desk

Index EN-great-scott · great Scott · English

great Scott · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "G" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for great Scott
PropertyValue
Headwordgreat Scott
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
IPA/ɡɹeɪt skɒt/
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “great Scott” sits in English frequency

great Scottfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

great Scott is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aninterjection, transcribed /ɡɹeɪt skɒt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An exclamation of surprise or amazement".

No generated misspelling entries exist for great Scott in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Uncertain or disputed. May come from either the Scottish novelist Walter Scott, so called in some poems, or Gen. Winfield Scott of the American Civil War, who weighed about 300 pounds and was referred to by his troops as "Great Scott". Alternately, perhaps … The correct English form is great Scott, spelled G-R-E-A-T- -S-C-O-T-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    An exclamation of surprise or amazement

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how great Scott appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Don’t understand? Land of—why, you see—you see—why, great Scott, can’t you understand a little thing like that? Can’t you understand the difference between your—why do you look so innocent and idiotic!
  2. “It's all clear,” he whispered. “Have you the chisel and the bags. Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I’ll swing for it!” Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of rending cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts.

Etymology

Uncertain or disputed. May come from either the Scottish novelist Walter Scott, so called in some poems, or Gen. Winfield Scott of the American Civil War, who weighed about 300 pounds and was referred to by his troops as "Great Scott". Alternately, perhaps a corruption of German grüß Gott! (“Good day!, Hello!”, literally “May God greet (thee)!”), or a euphemism for great Satan or good God.

Synonyms

wow

This word in other languages

nom de Zeus(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "great Scott"?
"great Scott" is spelled G-R-E-A-T- -S-C-O-T-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɹeɪt skɒt/.
What does "great Scott" mean?
As an interjection, "great Scott" means: An exclamation of surprise or amazement
How do you pronounce "great Scott"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "great Scott" is /ɡɹeɪt skɒt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "great Scott"?
Uncertain or disputed. May come from either the Scottish novelist Walter Scott, so called in some poems, or Gen. Winfield Scott of the American Civil War, who weighed about 300 pounds and was referred to by his troops as "Great Scott". Alternately... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

What to do next

You've looked up "great Scott". Here's where to go from here.

  • Browse more English words in the "G" letter cohort. G–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list