green thumb

American  

noun

1. an exceptional aptitude for gardening or for growing plants successfully.

   Houseplants provide much pleasure for the city dweller with a green thumb.

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green thumb British  

noun

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

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green thumb Cultural  

1. 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.”

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green thumb Idioms  

1. 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]

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• green-thumbed
  adjective
• green-thumber
  noun

Etymology

Origin of green thumb

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

I haven’t perfected my green thumb, but I’m working on it.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2025

But my green thumb ached as workers sawed down the tree, took away everything — trunk, twigs, leaves, fruit, roots — in biohazard bags and tagged the remaining trees with a bill of clean health.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2024

Gardener-writers helped puncture that belief by dispelling the myth of the green thumb.

From Washington Post • Feb. 22, 2023

Planting in containers with a very good potting soil is the way to go with Superbells, though if you can duplicate in your garden bed, you will garner the green thumb there, too.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 14, 2022

Seaweed is the secret behind her green thumb; she calls it Mother Nature’s Slug Repellent.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day