1
: of the color green
2
3
a
: envious sense 1
—used especially in the phrase green with envy
b
: marked by a pale, sickly, or nauseated appearance
4
: not ripened or matured
green peaches
5
a
: deficient in training, knowledge, or experience
green recruits
b
: deficient in sophistication and savoir faire : naive
was green and credulous
c
: not fully qualified for or experienced in a particular function
8
a
often capitalized
: relating to or being an environmentalist political movement
b
: concerned with or supporting environmentalism
green consumers who practice recycling
c
: tending to preserve environmental quality (as by being recyclable, biodegradable, or nonpolluting)
greener energy solutions
9
: pleasantly alluring
10
a
: not fully processed or treated: such as
(1)
: freshly sawed
green lumber
(2)
: not aged
green liquor
(3)
: not dressed or tanned
green hides
b
: not in condition for a particular use
plural greens
1
: a color whose hue is somewhat less yellow than that of growing fresh grass or of the emerald or is that of the part of the spectrum lying between blue and yellow
2
: something of a green color
3
: green vegetation: such as
a
greens plural
(1)
: leafy herbs (such as spinach, dandelions, or Swiss chard) that are cooked as a vegetable
(2)
b
greens plural
: leafy parts of plants for use as decoration
4
: an area consisting of or resembling grass: such as
a
: a usually grassy park or common in the center of a town or village
Mashpee, Massachusetts has a new town green, complete with bandstand.—
Alan D. Haas
Alan D. Haas
b
c
5
6
or Green
: environmentalist
especially
: a member of an activist political party focusing on environmental and social issues
7
physics
: one of the three colors (see color entry 1 sense 15) that quarks have in the theory of quantum chromodynamics
Whereas there is just one kind of electric charge, however, there are three kinds of color charge, usually called red, blue and green. (The names, of course, have nothing to do with colors in the everyday sense.)—Elliott D. Bloom and Gary J. Feldman
Elliott D. Bloom and Gary J. Feldman
Synonyms
Examples of green in a Sentence
Adjective
fields green with meadow grass
a new pitcher who's pretty green, even by rookie standards
Noun
a mixture of blues and greens
The town green was the center of activity.
It took him four shots to get to the green.
Recent Examples on the WebCharna Flam, Peoplemag, 22 Sep. 2023
Transportation workers are on the front lines of two profound and accelerating shifts that promise to make getting around easier and greener but also threaten jobs.
—WIRED, 22 Sep. 2023
The iPhone 15 comes in 5 colors (white, black, pink, green and yellow) and in two sizes: A 6.1-inch screen for the iPhone 15 and 6.7 inches for iPhone 15 Pro.
—Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN, 22 Sep. 2023
Exclusive variants for Target, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Amazon and D2C come in red, green, blue, yellow and purple respectively.
—Starr Bowenbank, Billboard, 22 Sep. 2023
Decorate with red frosting and sprinkles for a jolly sweet treat.
17
Cream Cheese Christmas Cookies
Wrapped in Christmas sprinkles of red and green, these nutty cookies will brighten your holiday cookie tray.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 22 Sep. 2023
The Surface Laptop Go 3 will be available on October 3rd in four colors: gray, blue, pink, and green.
—Sheena Vasani, The Verge, 21 Sep. 2023
Apple iPhone fans are also offered gold versions for the first time.
2013: iPhone 5C, a splash of color
In a flash of colorful plastic glory, the iPhone 5C hits the markets as a low-cost alternative to the 5S. Available in green, blue, pink, yellow and white, the 5C is shortlived.
—Jennifer Korn, CNN, 11 Sep. 2023
Doorbell video images showed Cavalcante to be now clean-shaven and wearing a yellow or green hooded sweatshirt, black baseball cap, green prison pants and white shoes, police said.
—Marc Levy, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Sep. 2023
Kat Cornetta, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Sep. 2023
Instead, it's gotten a cool-girl makeover that feels totally unique: Meet onyx green.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 19 Sep. 2023
The greens and the blues have generally come together to elect a series of Democratic ...
—Diana Furchtgott-Roth, National Review, 18 Sep. 2023
In London, a spacious and elegant lavender-colored living room displays six Bloomsbury-era paintings along a single wall, among them a Post-Impressionist portrait by Grant of Vanessa Bell wearing an orange dress trimmed with green, with a yellow shawl over her head.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2023
Blanch hearty greens such as collards for 3 minutes, then cool, drain, and store in the freezer.
—Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 18 Sep. 2023
Measure out 1/2 cup of the scallion greens and set aside for garnish.
—Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 15 Sep. 2023
This versatile top comes in 11 colors, including grey heather, coral, and dark green.
—Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 13 Sep. 2023
Choose heartier greens: Delicate salad greens, such as spinach and arugula, can easily get damaged in transit if not packed properly.
—Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2023
WIRED, 22 Sep. 2023
And all the snowmelt has brilliantly greened what’s often a dry, brown tinder box by this time of year.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2023
As California hills are greening up with spring rains (well, most years, anyway), grocery stores and farmers markets are starting to have glorious new greenery, too.
—Sunset Staff, Sunset Magazine, 3 Apr. 2023
The Xfinity Series race has been rescheduled for Monday at noon, with pole winner Justin Allgaier set to lead the field to green.
—Steve Reed, BostonGlobe.com, 27 May 2023
Colorant increases surface temperature, which may help dormant warm-season grasses green up faster in the spring.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, House Beautiful, 6 June 2023
The project comes online as Ukraine tries to show its commitment to aligning with the European Union’s plan for greening the power grid.
—Evan Halper, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2023
Data also include estimates of vehicle miles traveled and average mileage, all broken down by individual municipalities, providing insight into geographic trends as officials push to green the transportation system.
—Chris Lisinski, BostonGlobe.com, 3 July 2023
After his victory lap that followed his single-lap shootout with Marcus Ericsson, the defending winner who led the field to green with one lap to go after the end of a third and final red flag Sunday, Newgarden followed in Castroneves’ footsteps from 2021.
—Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 29 May 2023
See More
Adjective
Schiffer resurrected her signature strut in a floor-length green and silver checkerboard dress.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 22 Sep. 2023
Transportation workers are on the front lines of two profound and accelerating shifts that promise to make getting around easier and greener but also threaten jobs.
—WIRED, 22 Sep. 2023
The iPhone 15 comes in 5 colors (white, black, pink, green and yellow) and in two sizes: A 6.1-inch screen for the iPhone 15 and 6.7 inches for iPhone 15 Pro.
—Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN, 22 Sep. 2023
Exclusive variants for Target, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Amazon and D2C come in red, green, blue, yellow and purple respectively.
—Starr Bowenbank, Billboard, 22 Sep. 2023
Decorate with red frosting and sprinkles for a jolly sweet treat.
17
Cream Cheese Christmas Cookies
Wrapped in Christmas sprinkles of red and green, these nutty cookies will brighten your holiday cookie tray.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 22 Sep. 2023
The Surface Laptop Go 3 will be available on October 3rd in four colors: gray, blue, pink, and green.
—Sheena Vasani, The Verge, 21 Sep. 2023
Apple iPhone fans are also offered gold versions for the first time.
2013: iPhone 5C, a splash of color
In a flash of colorful plastic glory, the iPhone 5C hits the markets as a low-cost alternative to the 5S. Available in green, blue, pink, yellow and white, the 5C is shortlived.
—Jennifer Korn, CNN, 11 Sep. 2023
Doorbell video images showed Cavalcante to be now clean-shaven and wearing a yellow or green hooded sweatshirt, black baseball cap, green prison pants and white shoes, police said.
—Marc Levy, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Sep. 2023
Noun
This week, the field hockey team and the other varsity programs at East Bridgewater are encouraging their fans to wear green in support of Active Minds East Bridgewater, an organization that raises awareness for mental health.
—Kat Cornetta, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Sep. 2023
Instead, it's gotten a cool-girl makeover that feels totally unique: Meet onyx green.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 19 Sep. 2023
The greens and the blues have generally come together to elect a series of Democratic ...
—Diana Furchtgott-Roth, National Review, 18 Sep. 2023
In London, a spacious and elegant lavender-colored living room displays six Bloomsbury-era paintings along a single wall, among them a Post-Impressionist portrait by Grant of Vanessa Bell wearing an orange dress trimmed with green, with a yellow shawl over her head.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2023
Blanch hearty greens such as collards for 3 minutes, then cool, drain, and store in the freezer.
—Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 18 Sep. 2023
Measure out 1/2 cup of the scallion greens and set aside for garnish.
—Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 15 Sep. 2023
This versatile top comes in 11 colors, including grey heather, coral, and dark green.
—Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 13 Sep. 2023
Choose heartier greens: Delicate salad greens, such as spinach and arugula, can easily get damaged in transit if not packed properly.
—Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2023
Verb
The Biden administration has devoted hundreds of billions of dollars toward greening the nation’s energy system, speeding the shift toward electric cars, trucks, buses, and rail lines.
—WIRED, 22 Sep. 2023
And all the snowmelt has brilliantly greened what’s often a dry, brown tinder box by this time of year.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2023
As California hills are greening up with spring rains (well, most years, anyway), grocery stores and farmers markets are starting to have glorious new greenery, too.
—Sunset Staff, Sunset Magazine, 3 Apr. 2023
The Xfinity Series race has been rescheduled for Monday at noon, with pole winner Justin Allgaier set to lead the field to green.
—Steve Reed, BostonGlobe.com, 27 May 2023
Colorant increases surface temperature, which may help dormant warm-season grasses green up faster in the spring.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, House Beautiful, 6 June 2023
The project comes online as Ukraine tries to show its commitment to aligning with the European Union’s plan for greening the power grid.
—Evan Halper, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2023
Data also include estimates of vehicle miles traveled and average mileage, all broken down by individual municipalities, providing insight into geographic trends as officials push to green the transportation system.
—Chris Lisinski, BostonGlobe.com, 3 July 2023
After his victory lap that followed his single-lap shootout with Marcus Ericsson, the defending winner who led the field to green with one lap to go after the end of a third and final red flag Sunday, Newgarden followed in Castroneves’ footsteps from 2021.
—Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 29 May 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'green.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective, Noun, and Verb
Middle English grene, from Old English grēne; akin to Old English grōwan to grow
First Known Use
Adjective
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense
Time Traveler
The first known use of green was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing green
Dictionary Entries Near green
Cite this Entry
“Green.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/green. Accessed 28 Sep. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
green
1 of 2 adjective1
: of the color green
2
a
: covered by green leaves or herbs
b
: consisting of green plants or of the leafy part of a plant
a green salad
3
: not fully grown or ripe
4
a
: marked by a sickly appearance
b
: envious
—used especially in the phrase green with envy
5
: lacking training, knowledge, or experience
green troops
6
a
: concerned with or supporting environmentalism
b
: tending to preserve the quality of the environment
green dish soap
green
2 of 2 noun1
: a color (as that of fresh grass) that ranges between blue and yellow
2
a
: green vegetation
b
plural
: leafy parts of plants used for some purpose (as ornament or food)
3
: a grassy plain or plot
especially
: a smooth grassy area at the end of a golf fairway containing the hole
4
5
often capitalized
: environmentalist
especially
: a member of a political party focusing on environmental and social issues
greeny
adjective
ˈgrē-nē
Medical Definition
green
1 of 2 adjective1
: of the color green
2
of a wound
: being recently incurred and unhealed
3
: marked by a pale, sickly, or nauseated appearance
4
of hemolytic streptococci
: tending to produce green pigment when cultured on blood media
green
2 of 2 noun1
: a color whose hue is somewhat less yellow than that of growing fresh grass or of the emerald or is that of the part of the spectrum lying between blue and yellow
2
: a pigment or dye that colors green see janus green
Geographical Definition
Green
geographical name
1
river 730 miles (1175 kilometers) long in the western U.S. flowing from the Wind River Range in western Wyoming south into the Colorado River in southeastern Utah
2
city in northeastern Ohio south of Akron population 22,817
Biographical Definition
Green 1 of 2
biographical name (1)
Julien or Julian 1900–1998 French novelist
Green
2 of 2biographical name (2)
William 1873–1952 American labor leader
More from Merriam-Webster on green
Nglish: Translation of green for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of green for Arabic Speakers
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share