green card
Americannoun
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green cards
plural
noun
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an official permit allowing the holder permanent residence and employment, issued to foreign nationals in the US
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an insurance document covering motorists against accidents abroad
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social welfare (in Britain) an identification card issued by the Manpower Services Commission to a disabled person, to show registration for employment purposes and eligibility for special services See also handicap register registered disabled
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of green card
First recorded in 1965–70
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.
She asked the BBC to not use her real name out of fear it could impact a pending case to extend her green card.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
She and her husband needed to be in Westwood at 7 the next morning to see if he could get a temporary green card.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
They’ve pleaded not guilty, with the mother saying in an interview with investigators that she thought having a green card meant she could vote.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
Ten of the 11 people arrested on Wednesday were naturalized US citizens originally from China while the other was a green card holder.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Papá showed them his green card, which Ito, the Japanese sharecropper for whom we picked strawberries, had helped him get years before.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
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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.