1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

greener pastures

plural noun

: a better or more promising situation

Examples of greener pastures in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keir Starmer is stepping down from his seat in the British Parliament to seek greener pastures outside government. — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 1 Sep. 2026 About 20 years ago following the 2008 financial crisis, investors went in search of alternative safe-haven assets, finding greener pastures to traditional investments on, well, greener pastures. — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2026 Although Baywatch is heading back to the beach with Fox‘s new reboot, CJ Parker is moving on to greener pastures. — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 25 July 2026 Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster have moved onto greener pastures—at least for the summer. — Juliana Ukiomogbe, InStyle, 23 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for greener pastures

Word History

First Known Use

1970, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of greener pastures was in 1970

Browse Nearby Words

green ebony
greener pastures
greenery
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Greener pastures.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/greener%20pastures. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of churlish

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All