greenfield

greenfield — adjective

IPA/ˈɡriːnfiːld/
KK[ɡrˈinfˌild]IPA/ˈɡriːnfiːld/
  • greenfieldpositive
  • more greenfieldcomparative
  • most greenfieldsuperlative

1. relating to a piece of ground where nothing has ever been constructed or used fo

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

relating to a piece of ground where nothing has ever been constructed or used for industry — for instance, a field or open space where planners might build new homes, a factory, or an office park

Example

An electronics firm plans to build a factory on a greenfield site outside Bangkok — empty farmland with no industrial use.

attributive: greenfield + site; 'empty farmland' illustrates never-built-on concept

Bilal's construction firm prefers greenfield projects because there are no old buildings to knock down.

attributive: greenfield + project

Common collocations
  • greenfield site
  • greenfield land
  • greenfield development
  • greenfield project
  • greenfield area
  • greenfield investment
Synonyms
  • undeveloped

    broader term that can refer to any land not yet built on, including farmland; greenfield specifically implies never-built-on

  • virgin

    more dramatic or literary; 'virgin land' emphasises untouched natural state

Antonyms
  • brownfield

    land that has been previously built on or used for industry, often requiring cleanup before reuse

Grammar Patterns

greenfield + noun (site/land/project/development)

Usage Note

Almost always used before a noun (attributive position). Common in urban-planning, real-estate, and investment contexts. The opposite concept is brownfield (land previously built on or used for industry).

Common Mistakes

The land is a greenfield.
The land is a greenfield site.
These two examples show that greenfield is almost always an adjective; using it alone as a noun sounds unnatural in attributive contexts.
This greenfield is near the river.
This greenfield site is near the river.
The adjective form requires a following noun such as site, land, or area.

greenfield — noun

IPA/ˈɡriːn.fiːld/
KK[ɡrˈinfˌild]IPA/ˈɡriːn.fiːld/

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Greenfield and brownfield are opposite terms in urban planning. A greenfield has never been built on, while a brownfield is a former industrial site that may need environmental cleanup before reuse. Undeveloped land is a broader category that includes farmland, forest, and any land without buildings — it is not limited to the never-built-on meaning. A vacant lot is a small, usually weedy plot inside a built-up area, often waiting for a single building. Green belt (or greenbelt) is a protected ring of countryside around a city where development is legally restricted. For example, a city might build new homes on a greenfield on its edge, clean up a brownfield downtown, and keep its green belt safe from construction.

greenfield ↗brownfield ↗undeveloped landvacant lot ↗green belt

Common collocations

Nouns

  • site — 'a greenfield site'
  • land — 'greenfield land'
  • development — 'greenfield development'
  • project — 'a greenfield project'
  • investment — 'greenfield investment'
  • area — 'greenfield areas'

Phrases

  • greenfield vs brownfield
  • on the greenfield edge of the city

Prepositions

  • on — 'built on greenfields'
  • into — 'turn greenfields into housing'

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

A compound of green (the colour of grass and plants) + field (an open area of land). The planning sense emerged in mid-20th-century British English to describe rural or semi-rural land considered for new construction, and was later contrasted with brownfield (land previously used for industry). The word evokes the image of a green, undeveloped field as opposed to a grey, built-up or polluted site.

First known use

1940

1940, in the meaning defined above