green

[ green ]

/ grin /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for green on Thesaurus.com

adjective, green·er, green·est.

of the color of growing foliage, between yellow and blue in the spectrum: green leaves.

covered with herbage or foliage; verdant: green fields.

characterized by the presence of verdure.

made of green vegetables, as lettuce, spinach, endive, or chicory: a green salad.

not fully developed or perfected in growth or condition; unripe; not properly aged: This peach is still green.

unseasoned; not dried or cured: green lumber.

immature in age or judgment; untrained; inexperienced: a green worker.

simple; unsophisticated; gullible; easily fooled.

fresh, recent, or new: an insult still green in his mind.

having a sickly appearance; pale; wan: You’re looking a little green there—are you going to be sick? She was excited and laughing happily when the plane took off, but when her skydiving instructor opened the door at 9,000 feet, her face went positively green with fear.

full of life and vigor; young: a man ripe in years but green in heart.

environmentally sound or beneficial: green computers.

(of wine) having a flavor that is raw, harsh, and acid, due especially to a lack of maturity.

freshly slaughtered or still raw: green meat.

not fired, as bricks or pottery.

(of cement or mortar) freshly set and not completely hardened.

Foundry.

(of sand) sufficiently moist to form a compact lining for a mold without further treatment.
(of a casting) as it comes from the mold.
(of a powder, in powder metallurgy) unsintered.

noun

a color intermediate in the spectrum between yellow and blue, an effect of light with a wavelength between 500 and 570 nanometers; found in nature as the color of most grasses and leaves while growing, of some fruits while ripening, and of the sea.

Art. a secondary color that has been formed by the mixture of blue and yellow pigments.

green coloring matter, as paint or dye.

green material or clothing: to be dressed in green.
greens. Also called Army greens . a blue-green uniform of the U.S. Army.

greens,

fresh leaves or branches of trees, shrubs, etc., used for decoration.
the leaves and stems of plants, as spinach, lettuce, or beets, used as food.

grassy land; a plot of grassy ground.

a piece of grassy ground constituting a town or village common.

Also called putting green. Golf. the area of closely cropped grass surrounding each hole.

bowling green.

a shooting range for archery.

Informal. green light (def. 1).

Slang.Usually the green . money; greenbacks: I'd like to buy a new car but I don't have the green.

Green, a member of the Green party (in Germany).

verb (used with or without object)

to become or make green.

Informal. to restore the vitality of: Younger executives are greening corporate managements.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about green

green around the gills. gill (def. 6).

green with envy. envy (def. 6).

read the green, to inspect a golf green, analyzing its slope and surface, so as to determine the difficulties to be encountered when putting.

Origin of green

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English grēne; cognate with German grün; akin to grow

OTHER WORDS FROM green

green·age, noungreen·ly, adverbnon·green, adjectiveout·green, verb (used with object)

un·greened, adjective

Other definitions for green (2 of 2)

Green

[ green ]

/ grin /

noun

Henrietta Howland Robinson "Hetty", 1835–1916, U.S. financier.

Henry Henry Vincent Yorke, 1905–73, English novelist.

John Richard, 1837–83, English historian.

Julian, 1900–1998, French writer, born in U.S.

Paul Eliot, 1894–1981, U.S. playwright, novelist, and teacher.

William, 1873–1952, U.S. labor leader: president of the A.F.L. 1924–52.

a river flowing S from W Wyoming to join the Colorado River in SE Utah. 730 miles (1,175 km) long.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use green in a sentence

But when it came time to open their own place in the spring of 2012, they decided greener pastures lay in New Jersey.
High Rents Are Killing the Restaurant Capital|Will Doig|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So he began to think about ways to make the homes and apartments he was constructing greener.
Solar Panels Now Being Offered as a Prebuilt Feature in California|Daniel Gross|May 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The SUVs, coupes, and sedans that populate dealer showrooms are much greener than their antecedents.
Farewell to the Gas Station: The Demise of a Car-Culture Icon|Daniel Gross|May 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Vitale did not always have the discipline to resist the temptation to leave for greener pastures.
The Time Dick Vitale Almost Had His Own Hollywood Sitcom|Justin Green|April 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST

In many instances, the more expensive, greener versions of the basic coupes and sedans are doing well.
Detroit’s Green Leap Forward Pulls In to New York Auto Show|Daniel Gross|March 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It will hold tenaciously there, the last of its race, days after the decay of its greener and more healthy-looking mates.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
Above, on the bank, and greener than the grass, grew moss at the roots of ash-stoles and wherever there was shelter.
The Hills and the Vale|Richard Jefferies
Life wore a new aspect; the skies were bluer, the earth greener, the flowers more fragrant;—her twin-soul existed somewhere.
Ruth Hall|Fanny Fern
The fields then are greener than in the heats of July and June,—they have got back the luxury of a second spring.
Night and Morning, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
In Captain Wedderburn (17.1) it is death that is greener than the grass, which is equally inexplicable.
Ballads of Mystery and Miracle and Fyttes of Mirth|Frank Sidgwick

British Dictionary definitions for green (1 of 2)

green

/ (ɡriːn) /

noun

any of a group of colours, such as that of fresh grass, that lie between yellow and blue in the visible spectrum in the wavelength range 575–500 nanometres. Green is the complementary colour of magenta and with red and blue forms a set of primary coloursRelated adjective: verdant

a dye or pigment of or producing these colours

something of the colour green

a small area of grassland, esp in the centre of a village

an area of ground used for a purposea putting green

(plural)

the edible leaves and stems of certain plants, eaten as a vegetable
freshly cut branches of ornamental trees, shrubs, etc, used as a decoration

(sometimes capital) a person, esp a politician, who supports environmentalist issues (see sense 13)

slang money

slang marijuana of low quality

(plural) slang sexual intercourse

adjective

of the colour green

greenish in colour or having parts or marks that are greenisha green monkey

(sometimes capital) concerned with or relating to conservation of the world's natural resources and improvement of the environmentgreen policies; the green consumer

vigorous; not fadeda green old age

envious or jealous

immature, unsophisticated, or gullible

characterized by foliage or green plantsa green wood; a green salad

fresh, raw, or unripegreen bananas

unhealthily pale in appearancehe was green after his boat trip

denoting a unit of account that is adjusted in accordance with fluctuations between the currencies of the EU nations and is used to make payments to agricultural producers within the EUgreen pound

(of pottery) not fired

(of meat) not smoked or cured; unprocessedgreen bacon

metallurgy (of a product, such as a sand mould or cermet) compacted but not yet fired; ready for firing

(of timber) freshly felled; not dried or seasoned

(of concrete) not having matured to design strength

verb

to make or become green

Derived forms of green

greenish, adjectivegreenly, adverbgreenness, noungreeny, adjective

Word Origin for green

Old English grēne; related to Old High German gruoni; see grow

British Dictionary definitions for green (2 of 2)

Green

/ (ɡriːn) /

noun

Henry, real name Henry Vincent Yorke . 1905–73, British novelist: author of Living (1929), Loving (1945), and Back (1946)

John Richard. 1837–83, British historian; author of A Short History of the English People (1874)

T (homas) H (ill). 1836–82, British idealist philosopher. His chief work, Prolegomena to Ethics, was unfinished at his death

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with green

green

In addition to the idioms beginning with green

green about the gills
green light, the
green thumb
green with envy

also see:

grass is always greener

green

Idioms about green

Origin of green

OTHER WORDS FROM green

Other definitions for green (2 of 2)

Words related to green

How to use green in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for green (1 of 2)

Derived forms of green

Word Origin for green

British Dictionary definitions for green (2 of 2)

Other Idioms and Phrases with green