# greenhouse

Pronunciation: say "GREEN-hows" US /ˈɡɹːnˌ(h)aʊs/, UK /ˈɡɹiːnhaʊs/

## Noun

1. A building, often walled with glass or plastic sheeting, used to grow plants by trapping the sun's heat through cold seasons or climates.
   - Simple: A glass building where people grow plants, kept warm by trapping sunlight.
   - _Her greenhouse was full of orchids that needed steady warmth._
   - _Commercial growers raise seedlings in heated greenhouses through the spring._
4. A warm interval in the global climate, when average temperatures across the Earth are high.
   - Simple: A long, warm period when the whole planet's climate stays hot.
   - _Throughout the dinosaur era, the planet sat in a prolonged greenhouse._
   - _Geologists trace several greenhouses in the deep history of Earth's climate._
5. A protective structure placed over an operating table to shield it from bacteria during surgery.
   - Simple: A clear cover placed over an operating table to keep germs away during surgery.
   - _Surgeons in the early clinic relied on the greenhouse to keep bacteria away from open wounds._
   - _Before antiseptic methods improved, each greenhouse enclosed the operating table to limit infection._

## Verb

2. To nurture something carefully in order to encourage its growth or development.
   - Simple: To carefully support and develop something so that it grows stronger.
   - _The mentor worked to greenhouse her protégé's confidence over many months._
   - _Foundations often greenhouse promising research before larger institutions take notice._
3. To move plants under glass by placing them in a greenhouse.
   - Simple: To put plants inside a greenhouse, a building of glass or plastic for growing plants.
   - _Each fall, growers greenhouse their most delicate plants to protect them._
   - _The botanical garden greenhoused its new collection of tropical ferns, which could never survive the local climate outdoors._

## Noun

6. The transparent canopy enclosing the cockpit of an aircraft. *(dated, UK)*
   - Simple: The clear glass cover over a plane's cockpit.
   - _Flak had shattered part of the greenhouse before he made it home._
   - _He wiped the condensation from the inside of the greenhouse._

## Origin

From green + house ("house for growing greens"), named for the produce grown inside.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/greenhouse (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).