a green-colored traffic light used to signal drivers, pedestrians, etc., that they may proceed.
authorization; approval; permission.
The railroad has been given the green light on the proposed fare increase.
a signal to go, esp a green traffic light
permission to proceed with a project
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The White House was convinced by the FDA’s findings and gave the agency the green light to make them public.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
A European Parliament committee had already given its green light but that approval was challenged and there was a call for an assembly vote.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
“We never wait on a green light from anyone to tell the stories that we want to tell, and social media has already given us that opportunity,” Tales said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
"Alongside yesterday's softer inflation figures and the tentative agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, this gives the Bank of England the final green light to vote for a hold this afternoon."
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
The new drink was given the green light.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
“So far, we’ve seen no pressure on wages by any measure,” Lorizio said, but any uptick could serve as the final push for Fed officials to green-light rate increases.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
That effort has spurred the city to green-light more than 40,000 units.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
The group concluded that there was a strong case to green-light the breeding program.
From Slate ● Apr. 28, 2026
The reform has the backing of governors from the Andean provinces, who would have greater latitude to green-light mining projects.
From Barron's ● Apr. 8, 2026
As they watched, the green-light tunnel extended farther and farther, finally stopping at what looked to be twin tornadoes of swirling wind and snow.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
Lionel Messi, the 39-year-old Argentina captain, who continues to light up the international stage 20 years on from his tournament debut, green-lighted every detail of the top-dollar set-up.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
The FDA had green-lighted the design of Moderna’s trial years ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026
Some of the studio’s box office struggles predate Abdy and De Luca’s tenure and were projects green-lighted by a previous regime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2025
Venezuela's National Assembly has green-lighted a referendum regarding a territorial dispute with Guyana, Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said on Saturday in an address to the United Nations.
From Reuters ● Sep. 24, 2023
Every afternoon, through the hours before her father came home, she sat in the cool, green-lighted drawing-room reading Evangeline aloud to her mother.
From Life and Death of Harriett Frean by Sinclair, May
The green-lighting of series outside of Pilot Season began to signal the end of the program.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
Ahead of that meeting, Mr Sunak called the green-lighting of the march a "decision that the Metropolitan Police Commissioner has made".
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2023
The high court reversed that decision, green-lighting Miguel’s case against the district over his Americans with Disability Act claims.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 21, 2023
Federal Communications Commission on Thursday authorized Elon Musk's SpaceX to use its Starlink satellite internet network with moving vehicles, green-lighting the company's plan to expand broadband offerings to commercial airlines, shipping vessels and trucks.
From Reuters ● Jun. 30, 2022
“Stop canceling shows that people like, stop green-lighting so many ridiculous shows that nobody’s gonna watch, and stop raising the price,” they say.
From The Verge ● May 6, 2022
Patel’s best hope is that the lawsuit is dismissed early, because it’s highly unlikely that the Atlantic green-lit a story they knew, as his lawsuit claims, to be full of “false and obviously fabricated allegations.”
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026
European regulators have also green-lit treatments by Sydnexis for progressive childhood myopia and Atara-Pierre Fabre’s for a rare blood cancer, both of which were recently rejected by the FDA.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026
One red flag: It ends on a cliffhanger, and Season 2 has not been green-lit yet, despite the show shooting to the top of Netflix’s charts.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 27, 2026
In the U.S., even the most formally bold films, like the genuinely inventive “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” must be tied to popular intellectual property in order to get green-lit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026
Together they enter the dim, green-lit elevator, ascend to the fifth floor holding hands.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
