INDEX:
1. food
2. money, possessions, power etc
◆◆◆
1. food
▷ greedy /ˈgriːdi/ [adjective]
someone who is greedy wants to eat too much food, or eats more than their share of food - use this to show disapproval :
▪ Don’t be so greedy! Leave some cake for everyone else.
▪ Greedy children often tend to put on too much weight.
▪ Take your greedy fingers off that pie - you’ve had more than enough already.
greedily [adverb]
▪ He drank greedily, taking huge gulps from the bottle.
▷ pig /pɪg/ [countable noun] spoken informal
someone who is greedy :
▪ You pig, you’ve eaten it all!
greedy pig
▪ The greedy pig! He didn’t leave any pizza for us.
make a pig of yourself
eat a lot of food greedily
▪ That’s what Christmas is all about, isn’t it? Making a pig of yourself.
▷ greedy guts /ˈgriːdi gʌts/ [singular noun] British spoken
someone who is very greedy - used especially by children :
▪ Don’t be such a greedy guts!
▪ Hey, greedy guts, leave those sweets alone. They’re mine.
▷ greed /griːd/ [uncountable noun]
a strong desire to eat too much food :
▪ You don’t really want more ice cream -- it’s just greed.
▷ glutton /ˈglʌtn/ [countable noun]
someone who eats too much food :
▪ Uncle Richard was a glutton who ate everything in sight.
▪ We had salmon to start, followed by a glutton’s dessert of crème brûleé.
▷ gluttony /ˈglʌt ə ni/ [uncountable noun] formal
when someone eats or drinks much more than necessary, usually with the result that they become ill or unhealthy - used especially in literature :
▪ As soon as Christmas is over, people often start to regret their gluttony.
▪ The level of heart disease in the western world is a measure of our gluttony.
2. money, possessions, power etc
▷ greedy /ˈgriːdi/ [adjective]
someone who is greedy wants more money, possessions, power etc than they need, or wants more than their share :
▪ He was an ambitious man, selfish and greedy.
▪ the ridiculously high fees charged by greedy lawyers
become/get greedy
▪ Some landlords have become greedy and are demanding higher rents than people can afford.
greedy for
▪ There were ten of us children in the family, and we were all greedy for attention.
greedily [adverb]
▪ ‘How much money are you offering?’ she asked greedily.
▷ grasping /ˈgrɑːspɪŋǁˈgræs-/ [adjective only before noun]
very greedy so that you are not at all generous and treat other people very badly :
▪ He seems like a good guy to me, not at all the usual grasping political type.
▷ materialistic /məˌtɪ ə riəˈlɪstɪk◂/ [adjective]
believing that having a lot of money and possessions is the most important thing in life :
▪ Kids these days are very materialistic. They only seem to be interested in expensive toys and computer games.
▪ Western societies are becoming more materialistic as their wealth increases.
materialism /məˈtɪ ə riəlɪz ə m/ [uncountable noun]
▪ They disliked the materialism of the West and went to live in Nepal.
▷ greed /griːd/ [uncountable noun]
a strong desire for more money, possessions, power etc than you need, or for more than your share :
▪ It’s a story of lust, hatred and greed.
▪ Greed got him his fancy cars and high-powered boats. And greed caused his downfall.
greed for
▪ The greed for power of local politicians is simply amazing.
pure greed
▪ No one needs to earn salaries as big as that. It’s pure greed, that’s all it is.