green

1 /gri:n/ adjective

1 COLOUR having the colour of grass or leaves: Go on - the traffic lights have turned green! | green eyes

2 GRASSY covered with green grass: green fields

3 FRUIT/PLANT very young, or not yet ready to be eaten: The bananas are still green. | new green shoots on the roses

4 WITHOUT EXPERIENCE informal young and lacking experience: a new batch of very green recruits

5 ILL informal looking pale and unhealthy because you are ill: George looked a bit green the next morning. | green around/about the gills (=looking ill or frightened)

6 ENVIRONMENT connected with the environment: green issues

7 POLITICS belonging to the Green political party

8 green with envy wishing very much that you had something that someone else has

9 the green-eyed monster humorous or literary jealousy

10 have green fingers BrE have a green thumb AmE to be good at making plants grow

11 the green stuff AmE informal money

2 noun

1 (C, U) the colour of grass and leaves: a room decorated in pale blues and greens

2 greens (plural)

a) informal vegetables with large green leaves: Eat your greens.

b) AmE leaves and branches used for decoration, especially at Christmas

—compare greenery

3 (C) a level area of grass, especially in the middle of a village: playing cricket on the green

—see also: bowling green, village green

4 (C) a smooth flat area of grass around each hole on a golf course

5 Green (C) someone who supports the Green political party

3 verb

1 to fill an area with growing plants in order to make it more attractive: the challenge of greening the city

2 to make a person or organization realize the importance of environmental problems: the greening of public opinion