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

• green-thumbed adjective
• green-thumber noun

Etymology

Origin of green thumb

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Freddy Escobar stood on the sidewalk outside his former workplace waving a green thumb drive and a stack of papers that he said would clear his name.

From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2025

He was happy to leave the plant decisions to Solberg, the green thumb of the family.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2024

My reading also resolved a lifelong obstacle to gardening: my lack of a green thumb.

From Washington Post • Feb. 22, 2023

Outside of school, Reagan enjoys ceramics, obsessing over Victorian literature, and trying to keep her plants alive, although her succulents are proof that she may not have a green thumb.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 8, 2023

“So you’re an artist, a musician, a green thumb, a fish lover, and a reader?”

From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi