green thumb

See synonyms for green thumb on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an exceptional aptitude for gardening or for growing plants successfully: Houseplants provide much pleasure for the city dweller with a green thumb.

Origin of green thumb

1
First recorded in 1940–45

Other words from green thumb

  • green-thumbed, adjective
  • green-thumber, noun

Words Nearby green thumb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use green thumb in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for green thumb

green thumb

noun
  1. US and Canadian considerable talent or ability to grow plants: Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): green fingers

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for green thumb

green thumb

A knack for growing plants and keeping them healthy: “All my houseplants are in sorry shape; it's clear I don't have a green thumb.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with green thumb

green thumb

A knack for making plants grow well, as in Just look at Louise's plants—she really has a green thumb. This term presumably alludes to the stained fingers of an avid gardener. [First half of 1900s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.