Definition of 'green'

Word Frequency

green

(griːn )

Word forms: plural greens , comparative greener , superlative greenest

1. colour

Green is the colour of grass or leaves.

...shiny red and green apples.

Yellow and green together make a pale green.

2. adjective

A place that is green is covered with grass, plants, and trees and not with houses or factories.

Cairo has only thirteen square centimetres of green space for each inhabitant.

Synonyms: verdant [literary], leafy, grassy, verdurous More Synonyms of green

greenness uncountable noun

...the lush greenness of the river valleys.

3. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]

Green issues and political movements relate to or are concerned with the protection of the environment.

The power of the Green movement in Germany has made that country a leader in the drive to recycle more waste materials.

4. adjective

If you say that someone or something is green, you mean they harm the environment as little as possible.

...trying to persuade governments to adopt greener policies.

Our children are being educated to be green in everything they do.

Synonyms: ecological, conservationist, environment-friendly, ecologically sound More Synonyms of green

greenness uncountable noun

A Swiss company offers to help environmental investors by sending teams round factories to ascertain their greenness.

5. countable noun [usually plural]

Greens are members of green political movements.

The Greens won a seat.

6. countable noun

A green is a smooth, flat area of grass around a hole on a golf course.

...the 18th green.

7. countable noun

A green is an area of land covered with grass, especially in a town or in the middle of a village.

...the village green.

8. countable noun [noun NOUN]

Green is used in the names of places that contain or used to contain an area of grass.

...Bethnal Green.

9. plural noun

You can refer to the cooked leaves of vegetables such as spinach or cabbage as greens.

Eat your greens.

10. graded adjective

You can describe fruit and vegetables as green when they are unripe and not ready to be eaten.

Pick and ripen any green fruits in a warm dark place.

Synonyms: unripe, fresh, raw, immature More Synonyms of green

11. adjective

If you say that someone is green, you mean that they have had very little experience of life or a particular job.

He was a young lad, very green, very immature.

Synonyms: inexperienced, new, innocent, raw More Synonyms of green

12.

See green with envy

13.

See to have green fingers

14. to give someone the green light

More Synonyms of green

Video: pronunciation of
green

green in British English

(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 colours

▶ Related 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 purpose

a putting green

6. (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

7. (sometimes capital)

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

8. slang

money

9. slang

marijuana of low quality

10. (plural) vulgar, slang

sexual intercourse

adjective

11.

of the colour green

12.

greenish in colour or having parts or marks that are greenish

a green monkey

13. (sometimes capital)

concerned with or relating to conservation of the world's natural resources and improvement of the environment

green policies

the green consumer

14.

vigorous; not faded

a green old age

15.

envious or jealous

16.

immature, unsophisticated, or gullible

17.

characterized by foliage or green plants

a green wood

a green salad

18.

fresh, raw, or unripe

green bananas

19.

unhealthily pale in appearance

he was green after his boat trip

20.

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 EU

green pound

21.

(of pottery) not fired

22.

(of meat) not smoked or cured; unprocessed

green bacon

23. metallurgy

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

24.

(of timber) freshly felled; not dried or seasoned

25.

(of concrete) not having matured to design strength

verb

26.

to make or become green

Derived forms

greenish (ˈgreenish)

adjective

greenly (ˈgreenly)

adverb

greenness (ˈgreenness)

noun

greeny (ˈgreeny)

adjective

Word origin

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

Word Frequency

Green in British English

(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

Word Frequency

Green in American English 1

(grin )

Henry(pseud. of Henry Vincent Yorke) 1905-73; Eng. novelist

John Richard1837-83; Eng. historian

Paul ( Eliot)1894-1981; U.S. playwright

William1873-1952; U.S. labor leader

Word Frequency

Green in American English 2

(grin )

river flowing from W Wyo. south into the Colorado River in SE Utah: 730 mi (1,175 km)

Word Frequency

green in American English

(grin )

adjective

of the color that is characteristic of growing grass

overspread with or characterized by green plants or foliage

a green field

made of green-leaved vegetables

green salad

keeping the green grass of summer; without snow; mild

a green December

sickly or bilious, as from illness, fear, etc.

flourishing; active

to keep someone's memory green

of the time of one's youth

the green years

not mature; unripe

green bananas

not trained; inexperienced

easily led or deceived; simple; naive

not dried, seasoned, or cured; unprocessed

green lumber

10.

fresh; new

11.

a. [often G-]

of, relating to, or advocating ecological awareness, the preservation of natural resources, etc.

green politics

b. [usually G-]

designating or of a political party or movement having these goals

12. Informal

jealous

noun

13.

the color of growing grass; any color between blue and yellow in the spectrum: green can be produced by blending blue and yellow pigments

14.

any green pigment or dye

15.

anything colored green, as clothing

16. [pl.]

green leaves, branches, etc., used for ornamentation

17. [pl.]

green leafy plants or vegetables eaten cooked or raw, as spinach, lettuce, etc.

18.

an area of smooth turf set aside for special purposes

a village green

19. [usually G-]

an environmentalist; specif., a member of an environmentalist political party

20. US, Slang

money, esp. paper money

chiefly in long green and folding green

21. Golf

the plot of carefully tended turf immediately surrounding each of the holes to facilitate putting

verb transitive, verb intransitive

22.

to make or become green

Idioms:

green with envy

Derived forms

greenish (ˈgreenish)

adjective

greenishness (ˈgreenishness)

noun

greenly (ˈgreenly)

adverb

greenness (ˈgreenness)

noun

Word origin

ME grene < OE, akin to Ger grün, Du groen: for IE base see grow; (sense 12) see green-eyed

Example sentences including
green

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…

Light and fresh with hints of moreish green apple and pale peppers.That is why in certain circumstances we have endorsed building on green belt land near cities.Serve the chops with boiled potatoes and green beans.We know that green spaces promote wellbeing.The gills are white and the cap is usually a pale green colour.The new growth is bright green compared with the old dark green growth.Also available in green, blue and white.That's another reason why fellow golfers are green with envy.I have had two green cars, both of which were soon covered in dents.This bean stew is tasty enough to enjoy on its own or with fresh green beans.