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Glite Dictionary
great deal of time

great deal of time

19 2.8
A long time spent doing something
  • noun
translation icon : mucho tiempo
  • Successful study in the area of jazz theory requires a great deal of time and commitment.
  • spend a great deal of time
  • invest a great deal of time
  • take a great deal of time

And I've spent a great deal of time learning from amazing dermatologists and experts.

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Examples

  • And I spent a great deal of time in order to gain everything.

    Challenge to Lassie (1949)

  • I do not have a great deal of time.

    Delivery Man (2013)

  • And so these are all things that I spent a great deal of time on in the book.

  • You may not have a great deal of time.

    Charade (1963)

  • I must have done enough because she spent a great deal of time with me nearly every night.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Still, you may find times when you need to spend a great deal of time with both problems and solutions.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Splendid, this might save me a great deal of time and effort.

    Giant from the Unknown (1958)

  • I've spent a great deal of time here.

    Sphinx (1981)

  • I've been spending a great deal of time in the forest lately.

    The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996)

  • Successful study in the area of jazz theory requires a great deal of time and commitment.

Synonyms

long time
vsgreat deal of time
∞ 1.0

A period lasting many days or years

is broader, meaning a large total time spent on something
a long time
vsgreat deal of time
∞ 1.0

A period that lasts much longer than usual

is more general in meaning, a large amount spent on something
plenty of time
vsgreat deal of time
179 1.2

More than enough time to finish something without rushing

focuses on large total time rather than sufficiency for a task
much
vsgreat deal of time
1 1.0

A large amount of something

specifies that largeness applied particularly to long periods
years
vsgreat deal of time
2.6

A very long time that feels much longer than usual

can mean any large amount, not only very long spans

Antonyms

short
∞ 1.0

Not long in distance, height, or time

little
1 1.0

A very small amount or short time

How Long

age
332 7.7
great deal of time
19 2.8
while
∞ 1.0
moment
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

great deal of time singular
great deals of time plural

Morphology

great + deal + of + time

The meaning 'a large or significant amount of time' is directly derivable from the constituents: 'great' (large) modifying 'deal' (an amount) plus 'of time' yields a quantifier phrase. This is a standard, compositional English pattern ('a great deal of X') and is cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows the component words will understand it.

Etymology

Great deal of time uses deal to mean 'an amount' and great to mean 'large', so imagine taking a big piece of time from a calendar. That's why great deal of time means 'a large amount of time'.