the greenhouse effect
noun
: the warming of the Earth's atmosphere that is caused by air pollution
Note: The greenhouse effect occurs when warmth from the sun is trapped in the Earth's atmosphere by a layer of gases (such as carbon dioxide) and water vapor.
Examples of the greenhouse effect in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Since the oceans would freeze over without the greenhouse effect, this was a key first step in building any kind of credible climate model.
—
Nadir Jeevanjee, The Conversation, 3 Sep. 2025
However, the science of the greenhouse effect provides the details of energy being absorbed and re-emitted by greenhouse gasses.
—Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
This would have drawn carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, reducing the greenhouse effect that warmed the planet.
—ArsTechnica, 13 July 2025
Use the sun’s rays to superheat the soil using the greenhouse effect.
—Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2025
That’s still chilly, but remember the greenhouse effect: there is a lot of frozen methane and carbon dioxide on Pluto, so these ices can vaporize and possibly provide enough thermal retention to make the tiny world at least somewhat comfortable, if not exactly habitable.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 3 July 2025
These warm, wet periods would have been driven by Mars losing water from its atmosphere to the ground, which ironically refilled the hydrogen content of the atmosphere, thus sustaining the greenhouse effect.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 30 Jan. 2025
Eunice Newton Foote described the greenhouse effect in 1856, but posterity remembers John Tyndall, who presented his own experiments three years later.
—Sheila McClear, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2025
The gist of the greenhouse effect is that some of that light, instead of escaping straight to space, hits CO2 molecules in the atmosphere.
—Joseph Howlett, WIRED, 25 Aug. 2024
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Nadir Jeevanjee, The Conversation, 3 Sep. 2025
However, the science of the greenhouse effect provides the details of energy being absorbed and re-emitted by greenhouse gasses.
—Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
This would have drawn carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, reducing the greenhouse effect that warmed the planet.
—ArsTechnica, 13 July 2025
Use the sun’s rays to superheat the soil using the greenhouse effect.
—Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2025
That’s still chilly, but remember the greenhouse effect: there is a lot of frozen methane and carbon dioxide on Pluto, so these ices can vaporize and possibly provide enough thermal retention to make the tiny world at least somewhat comfortable, if not exactly habitable.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 3 July 2025
These warm, wet periods would have been driven by Mars losing water from its atmosphere to the ground, which ironically refilled the hydrogen content of the atmosphere, thus sustaining the greenhouse effect.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 30 Jan. 2025
Eunice Newton Foote described the greenhouse effect in 1856, but posterity remembers John Tyndall, who presented his own experiments three years later.
—Sheila McClear, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2025
The gist of the greenhouse effect is that some of that light, instead of escaping straight to space, hits CO2 molecules in the atmosphere.
—Joseph Howlett, WIRED, 25 Aug. 2024
Cite this Entry
“The greenhouse effect.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20greenhouse%20effect. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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