Greed
//ɡɹiːd// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 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 reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth (personified as one of the deadly sins) wordnet
- 3 excessive desire to acquire or possess more (especially more material wealth) than one needs or deserves wordnet
Verb
- 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."
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Although he had many toys, his greed made him want more."
Etymology
c. 1600. Back-formation from greedy.
Related phrases
More for "greed"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.