greenbrier

American

[green-brahy-er] / ˈgrinˌbraɪ ər /

noun

catbrier.

greenbrier British

/ ˈɡriːnˌbraɪə /

noun

Also called: cat brier. any of several prickly climbing plants of the liliaceous genus Smilax, esp S. rotundifolia of the eastern US, which has small green flowers and blackish berries

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of greenbrier

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85; green + brier ¹

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.

Consider a historic footnote from World War II. Shortly after Pearl Harbor in 1941, all the Germans and Japanese in their embassies in Washington were sent under guard to the luxurious Greenbrier and Homestead resorts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

Koepka won LIV titles in 2022 at Jeddah, 2023 in Orlando and Jeddah and 2024 at Singapore and Greenbrier.

From Barron's • Jan. 9, 2026

Brooks Koepka beat Jon Rahm in a play-off at the Greenbrier Invitational to win his fifth LIV Golf title and his second of the year.

From BBC • Aug. 19, 2024

"Speaker Mike Johnson selected the Greenbrier Resort because it was 'family friendly,' in a break from past retreats which have taken place in sunny Florida."

From Salon • Mar. 14, 2024

Some years he found work closer to home at the Greenbrier, the luxury resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, which was a destination for wealthy and fabulous people from around the world.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023