green light

1. The green-colored light that signals traffic to proceed.

2. Informal Permission to proceed.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

green light

1. (Automotive Engineering) a signal to go, esp a green traffic light

2. permission to proceed with a project

vb (tr) , -lights, -lighting or -lighted

to permit (a project, etc) to proceed

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

green′ light′

1. a green-colored traffic light used to signal permission to proceed.

2. authorization or permission to proceed with an action or project.

[1935–40]

green′-light′

v.t. -light•ed or -lit, -light•ing.

to give permission to proceed or authorization to (a project or person).

[1940–45]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	green light - a signal to proceed go-ahead traffic light, traffic signal, stoplight - a visual signal to control the flow of traffic at intersections
	2.	green light - permission to proceed with a project or to take action; "the gave the green light for construction to begin" permission - approval to do something; "he asked permission to leave"

green light

noun authorization, sanction, approval, go-ahead (informal), blessing, permission, confirmation, clearance, imprimatur, O.K. or okay (informal) The project was given the green light in the Chancellor's autumn budget.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

feu vert

via libera immaturo

green light

n to give sb/sth the green light → dare il via libera a qn/qc

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

They stood in an empty space in the midst of great tree-trunks, and out there a little green light moving slightly up and down showed them where the steamer lay in which they were to embark.

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But the green light, which was all they could see, and which they could see only when they were on top of a wave, moved steadily away from them, withal it was working up to windward, and grew dim and dimmer.

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"It can't be midnight yet," I said, and then came a blinding glare of vivid green light. Everything in the kitchen leaped out, clearly visible in green and black, and vanished again.

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They followed her gaze, and saw a green light and the loom of a vessel's sails.

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One green light squinting over Kidd's Creek, which is near the mouth of the pirate river, marked where the brig, the JOLLY ROGER, lay, low in the water; a rakish-looking [speedy-looking] craft foul to the hull, every beam in her detestable, like ground strewn with mangled feathers.

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In a moment a strange, unearthly, green light seemed to roll back the darkness.

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The white and green light strained through apple trees and clustering vines outside fell over the rapt little figure with a half-unearthly radiance.

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For they were in the streets of a beautiful emerald-green city, bathed in a grateful green light that was especially pleasing to their eyes, and surrounded by merry faced people in gorgeous green-and-gold costumes of many extraordinary designs.

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I'm to carry a green light to starboard and a red to port, with a white light at the mast-head, and a flare-up every fifteen minutes."

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I will state one other instance of unifor action, though of a very different nature, in a zoophyt closely allied to Clytia, and therefore very simply organized Having kept a large tuft of it in a basin of salt-water, whe it was dark I found that as often as I rubbed any part of branch, the whole became strongly phosphorescent with green light: I do not think I ever saw any object more beautifully so.

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At the house with the green lights beside the steps he pulled up.

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There were lovely silver lights upon the waves and three green lights upon the steamer in the middle of the bay.

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