green earth
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of green earth
First recorded in 1785–95
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.
“Why on God’s green earth, why would we allow this to happen?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 7, 2026
After viewing the matter from every angle and discussing it in a full editorial conference for an hour, I don’t see how in God’s green earth we can publish “Whose Names Are Unknown.”
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2024
"It's going to be hard to go back and see a black earth instead of a green earth," Ms August said.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2023
“Not on God’s green earth, as the phrase goes,” Newsom said in the weekend interview, adding that he would be with Biden on Monday and hosting a fundraiser for him Tuesday.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 19, 2023
It was because every single, solitary day that I’d been walking this good green earth, I’d been complaining about the name Cornelia.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
