tree-hug·ger

(trē′hŭg′ər)

n. Informal

An environmentalist, especially one who supports the preservation of forested land and the restriction of logging.

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.

tree-hugger

(ˈtriːˌhʌɡə)

(Government, Politics & Diplomacy) informal derogatory an environmental campaigner

[C20: from the tactic of embracing trees to prevent their being felled]

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

tree′-hug`ger

Informal. an environmentalist, esp. one concerned with preserving forests.

[1985–90]

tree′-hug`ging, adj.

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References in periodicals archive

By Jezza's tree-hugging logic, Cornish tin, mined since Roman times, would have stayed in the ground.

Turn off the hot air and go frack for gas, Jeremy; Telling it like it is PAUL ROUTLEDGE

So, it wasn't surprising when he launched a tree-hugging protest back in 2016 to try to stop the local authority from relocating 16 trees to make way for a 1.8km road widening project along Jalan Masjid Negeri.

Tireless, unwavering, consistent: Why we'll never have another SM Idris

Meghan and Harry are doing their damndest to appear cuter than a pair of tree-hugging Koalas but the Australians are not as impressed as we've been told.

No place is safe from this royal sickness

Hurricanes Irma and Maria put a group of little tree-hugging lizards to the test, and scientists were perfectly positioned to see which reptiles survived and why.

Researchers use leaf blower to see how lizards buck wind

'After that, we had a simultaneous 'tree-hugging' and birdwatching,' Forcado said.

Marinduque school trains green advocates in wake of mining disaster

Benefits such as those are just a couple reasons why you don't have to be a "tree-hugging" environmentalist to go green.

Editor's DESK

You just stay at home to look after your kids like some kind of tree-hugging hippy?

First things first

Following the springing up on environmental tree-hugging social media sites of groups planning to meet in order to plant trees in the fire gutted areas of Soleas, the Forestry Department Thursday requested the public to refrain from the practice saying it could do more harm than good.

Forestry department calls on public not to plant trees willy nilly

Organic should not be seen as just a fluffy, tree-hugging concept, but as a muscular way to grow.

It is far sexier to be seen as a hunter

EVIL DEAD EVIL DEAD C4 11.05PM PREMIERE "Cross my heart, hope to die," says Shiloh Fernandez (above) in a demonically straightfaced revision of Sam Raimi's tree-hugging 'video nasty'.

SUNDAY

A couple of internationally funded, tree-hugging green groups are apparently hobbling the country's economy by campaigning against new power projects, mining, and genetically modified crop initiatives.

Green bogeyman

You can share your tree-hugging picture with me and add it to my collection at facebook.com/dirtgirlworldtv and let me know just how many trees you hugged too.

Hi EarthKids!