Meaning of green in English

green

adjective

/ɡriːn/ us

/ɡriːn/

green adjective (COLOUR)

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of a colour between blue and yellow; of the colour of grass:

green vegetables

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The male mallard has a green head and reddish-brown chest.
He's got pink walls and a green carpet, which to my mind looks all wrong.
I think I'll take your advice and get the green dress.
I put my new green shirt in a hot wash and the colour ran.
I wore that skirt with the green spots.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Common colours

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green adjective (POLITICAL)

B2 (also Green)

relating to the protection of the environment or to political parties or groups whose aim is to protect the environment:

green politics/issues

a green campaigner/activist

Green Party The country's Green Party has pledged to invest heavily in public transport.

go green

to do more to protect nature and the environment:

The Chancellor proposed a crackdown on car and plane emissions, and the introduction of tax incentives to go green.

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There is a growing current of support for Green issues among voters.
The government's new-found enthusiasm for green issues has been welcomed by environmentalists.
It's not very green, throwing away so much rubbish.
I'm going to try to be a bit greener and recycle more.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Politics - general words

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Environmental issues

green adjective (PLANTS)

covered with grass, trees, and other plants:

the green hills of Ireland

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Gardening - general words

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green adjective (NOT READY)

(especially of fruit) not ready to eat, or (of wood) not dry enough to use:

green bananas/tomatoes

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Various qualities of food

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Types of wood

green adjective (NOT EXPERIENCED)

informal

not experienced or trained:

I was very green when I started working there.

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Inexperienced (of people)

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Related word

greenness

Idioms

be green with envy
give the green light to something
go/turn green

green

noun

/ɡriːn/ us

/ɡriːn/

green noun (COLOUR)

A2 [ C or U ]

the colour of grass; a colour between blue and yellow:

light/pale green

dark/bottle green

Tolga TEZCAN/E+/GettyImages

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I like rich jewel colours, such as purple, blue, and green.
He's colour-blind and can't distinguish between red and green easily.
The spelling mistakes in the text had been highlighted in green.
You look nice in green.
If you put together yellow and blue paint you get green.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Common colours

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green noun (POLITICS)

(also Green)

a member or supporter of a political party or group whose aim is to protect the environment:

He used to be a Liberal, but now he's a Green.

The Greens won power in the local council election.

I know that many greens will object to the whole idea of sustainable growth and green capitalism.

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Many members of the Parliament, many of whom are Greens, said they would block the legislation.

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Politics - general words

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Environmental issues

green noun (GRASS)

[ C ]

an area planted with grass, especially for use by the public:

village green Children were playing on the village green.

photovs/iStock/Getty Images Plus/GettyImages

[ C ] mainly UK

used as a part of a name:

Sheep's Green

[ C ]

a flat area of grass surrounding the hole on a golf course

Chris Babcock/iStock/Getty Images Plus/GettyImages

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The police used dogs to clear the campers off the village green.
They're holding the village fête on the green.
The pub is opposite a charming village green.
The green used to be used as a pitch for the local cricket team.
The signs asked visitors to keep off the green.

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Towns & regions: areas in towns & cities

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Golf

green noun (FOOD)

greens [ plural ]

the leaves of green vegetables such as spinach or cabbage when eaten as food:

Come on now, eat your greens!

(Definition of green from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

green | American Dictionary

green

adjective, noun [ C/U ]

/ɡrin/

green adjective, noun [C/U] (COLOR)

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(of) the color that is a mixture of blue and yellow; the color of grass:

a green dress

[ C ] I don’t like that green.

Idioms

a green thumb

green with envy

green

adjective [ -er/-est only ]

/ɡrin/

green adjective [-er/-est only] (OF PLANTS)

of or relating to grass, trees, and other plants:

I’d like a green salad (= made with leafy vegetables).

green adjective [-er/-est only] (POLITICAL)

relating to the protection of the environment:

green politics

green adjective [-er/-est only] (NOT READY)

not experienced or trained:

I was pretty green when I joined this company.

green

noun [ C ]

regional US

/ɡrin/

green noun [C] (PLANTS)

an area planted with grass, esp. for use by the public:

The fair will be held on the green behind the library.

A green is also an area of smooth grass surrounding a hole on a golf course.

(Definition of green from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

green | Business English

green

adjective

ENVIRONMENT, SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

/ɡriːn/ us

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relating to or believing in the protection of the natural environment:

green issues/politics/solutions Small companies need green solutions to be more affordable.

Car manufacturers are investing in green technology.

Their recycling policies are very green.

a green campaigner/activist

Companies are becoming greener in response to customer expectations.

go green

to start doing things in a way that protects the natural environment:

There are many benefits for developers and builders who decide to go green.

My supermarket went green last year and has stopped supplying free plastic bags.

(Definition of green from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of green

green

Such green speculations are problematic and will not be pursued further; purely human needs are the concern here.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

There are views over the green roof below and into the canopies of the surrounding trees.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Outside this road, a green belt (100 metres wide) separated the city and surrounding countryside.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Luminance-defined targets had the same hue and saturation as the background, whereas saturation-defined targets were green and equiluminant with the background.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

And if the soil is good, then the green twig will not be long in coming, and only a warm sun will nourish it.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It is consistent with the conclusion that people typically see green objects as green, orange objects as orange, and so forth.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

We found that for both red and green center cells the data could be perfectly fitted by either mixed or pure surrounds.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Cells of opposite polarity to the central reference cell are shown in red and those of the same polarity in green.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Therefore, white-vented mynas probably preferred the green patches among residential buildings, as this may have allowed them to more efficiently exploit ephemeral anthropogenic food sources.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Recent use of green oak springs from the realisation that fairly young trees offer a potential resource which can be converted to provide reasonable sections.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

For each directed green segment, there is an eaten square on its left side, and there is a blue (uneaten) square on its right side.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Though more costly, the more sustainable option is the use of green manures.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In other words, as the rate of import increases, the proportion of the obsidian assemblage that is green decreases.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A popular explanation holds that large green jurisdictions have been forcing their trading partners to trade or ratchet up their regulation.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

But having said that, debbie tucker green's plays are real left-side-of-the-brain pieces of writing.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.