DictionaryAI

greenhouse

SayGREEN-howsUS/ˈɡɹːnˌ(h)aʊs/UK/ˈɡɹiːnhaʊs/

Pluralgreenhouses

Verbgreenhouses, greenhousing, greenhoused

6 meanings of greenhouse

Practice

  1. 1
    nouncountable
    A glass building where people grow plants, kept warm by trapping sunlight.

    Like a warm glass box that keeps plants cozy when it is cold outside.

    We grow tomatoes in the greenhouse all winter long.

    The greenhouse stays warm even when it snows outside.

    Similarglasshouse, hothouse, conservatory

    Note
  2. 2
    verbfigurativelytransitive
    To carefully support and develop something so that it grows stronger.

    Like keeping a young plant warm and safe until it is strong enough to grow on its own.

    Good teachers greenhouse new ideas until students feel ready to share them.

    The company tried to greenhouse young talent within its own teams.

    Similarnurture, foster, cultivate, incubate

    Note
  3. 3
    verbtransitive
    To put plants inside a greenhouse, a building of glass or plastic for growing plants.

    We greenhouse our tomato seedlings in March so they get an early start.

    The farm greenhouses its strawberries so they are ready to sell in early spring.

  4. 4
    nouncountable
    A long, warm period when the whole planet's climate stays hot.

    Like the whole Earth turning into a warm room for a very long time.

    Millions of years ago the Earth was in a greenhouse, with no ice at the poles.

    During a greenhouse, forests can grow far closer to the poles.

    Similarhothouse

    Oppositeicehouse

    Note
  5. 5
    nouncountable
    A clear cover placed over an operating table to keep germs away during surgery.

    Like a clear box that keeps germs away from the patient.

    The nurses set up the greenhouse around the table before the operation began.

    Inside the greenhouse, the surgeon could cut the wound without worrying about germs.

    Note

Less common meaning

  1. 6
    noundatedUKcountable
    The clear glass cover over a plane's cockpit.

    Like a clear bubble that the pilot sits inside.

    The pilot slid back the greenhouse and climbed out onto the wing.

    In the slang of the Royal Air Force man, the cockpit of his plane is the ‘pulpit’ or ‘office’, the glass covering over it the ‘greenhouse’.
    1941, LifeHere, greenhouse means the clear glass cover over a plane's cockpit.

    Similarcanopy

    Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of greenhouse apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From green plus house, meaning a house for growing green plants.