Greed

//ɡɹiːd// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A selfish or excessive desire for more than is needed or deserved, especially of money, wealth, food, or other possessions. uncountable, usually

    "His greed was his undoing."

  2. 2
    reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth (personified as one of the deadly sins) wordnet
  3. 3
    excessive desire to acquire or possess more (especially more material wealth) than one needs or deserves wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To desire in a greedy manner, or to act on such a desire.

    "The ravens sit greeding, / And watching, and heeding: / Thoro' wind, over water, / Comes scent of the slaughter, / And ravens sit greeding / Their share of the bones."

Example

More examples

"Although he had many toys, his greed made him want more."

Etymology

c. 1600. Back-formation from greedy.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.