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

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

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

The pastel blue jacket also showcases noteworthy books she worked on, as well as shrubs and flowers to represent her green thumb.

From Washington Post • Dec. 27, 2022

With your green thumb, consider selling plants in your community.

From Slate • Oct. 21, 2022

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

From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi