green light
noun
a green-colored traffic light used to signal drivers, pedestrians, etc., that they may proceed.
Jump To:
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green light
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green-light
green-lightverb (used with object)to give permission to proceed; authorize.
green light
1 Americannoun
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green lights
plural
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a green-colored traffic light used to signal drivers, pedestrians, etc., that they may proceed.
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authorization; approval; permission.
The railroad has been given the green light on the proposed fare increase.
green-light
2
American
verb (used with object)
green-lighted,
green-lit,
green-lighting
green light
British
noun
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a signal to go, esp a green traffic light
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permission to proceed with a project
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Plus, the Supreme Court gives ballroom construction the green light, and Trump says it’s time for communities to embrace data centers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Coincidentally, last March, Ward gave the green light for Carruthers’ execution after his attorneys had argued that Carruthers was not competent to be executed because he was “consumed by psychotic delusions.”
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
The project was given the green light during a two-day state visit to France by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Danbom, who had the green light, claimed in his lawsuit he had just a few seconds to react before an inevitable crash.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
The backpack ripped, Eddie’s journal tumbled out, and bright green light flared in a blinding flash.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
“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
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
The punchline was that Reiner’s next one, “The Princess Bride,” wasn’t any easier to green-light.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2025
We played red-light- green-light, tag, football, Red Rover, or nameless games that involved running hard, keeping up with the pack, and not crying if you fell down.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
The FDA had green-lighted the design of Moderna’s trial years ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026
Last year, the federal government had fully green-lighted the annual reformulation of the vaccine by June, in time for a rollout that began in September.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2025
However in 2020 their legal challenge was dismissed by a federal court in Germany, which green-lighted construction to go ahead.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2025
The government has since green-lighted the establishment of thousands of small companies.
From Reuters ● Aug. 21, 2023
It was evident that she had been on the lookout for him; a French-window in a creeper-covered veranda opened as he advanced, and gracious domesticity stood smiling in the green-lighted shade.
From King John of Jingalo The Story of a Monarch in Difficulties by Laurence Housman
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
"Given current interest rates, Netflix will have to be very selective about green-lighting content and how they would finance it."
From Reuters ● Jan. 17, 2023
Mr. Crenshaw missed a vote on the rules package this week, in addition to one green-lighting the creation of the select subcommittee.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 12, 2023
“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
A third season has already been green-lit, amid rumors that Meghan Markle might join the cast.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
It has also green-lit a multibillion-dollar plan for a 13-mile underground subway for the Sepulveda Transit Corridor linking the San Fernando Valley to the Westside.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
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
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.
