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-thumber
  noun
• green-thumbed
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of green thumb

First recorded in 1940–45

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

green thumb

I haven’t perfected my green thumb, but I’m working on it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2025

A walking red flag with a green thumb, he goes by the name Narvel Roth, which is surely some sort of punishment.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 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

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

Seaweed is the secret behind her green thumb; she calls it Mother Nature’s Slug Repellent.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

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