greedy

[gree-dee]

adjective

greedier, greediest 

1. excessively or inordinately desirous of wealth, profit, etc..

   The greedy owners of the company paid their employees too little and charged their customers too much.

   Synonyms: selfish, rapacious, grasping
   Antonyms: unselfish, generous

2. having an excessive desire for food or drink.

   That greedy guy ate four of those brownies before anyone else got any!

   Synonyms: insatiable, gluttonous, voracious, ravenous

3. keenly desirous; eager (often followed by of orfor ).

   greedy for praise.

   Synonyms: covetous, anxious

4. requiring or using much of a specified thing (often used in combination).

   These big trucks are fuel-greedy.

   Crops that are greedy for water should not be planted in dry regions.

5. Computers.

   1. of or relating to an algorithm, search, etc., that operates one step at a time instead of checking all possible paths or solutions all at once and then selecting the one with the best overall outcome.

      A result may be achieved faster with a greedy search, but that result is not always the correct or best one.

   2. of or relating to an operator or quantifier in a search query that will return the largest match result possible.

greedy

/ ˈɡriːdɪ /

adjective

1. excessively desirous of food or wealth, esp in large amounts; voracious

2. eager (for)

   a man greedy for success

Other Word Forms

• greedily adverb
• greediness noun
• nongreedy adjective
• overgreedily adverb
• overgreediness noun
• overgreedy adjective
• ungreedy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of greedy¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English gredy, Old English grædig; cognate with Old Norse grāthugr, Gothic gredags

Word History and Origins

Origin of greedy¹

Old English grǣdig; related to Old Norse grāthugr, Gothic grēdags hungry, Old High German grātac

Synonym Study

See avaricious, greed.

Example Sentences

Citing the cost of living and climate crises, Greer said Scotland was "rigged" in favour of the super-rich, big polluters and "greedy landlords".

From BBC

It’s a flawed reason, and a greedy one, a fact neither character seems to understand.

From Los Angeles Times

It certainly felt a long way back for Isak on Saturday after the away end called the Swede "greedy" following the goalless draw against Aston Villa.

From BBC

Is two-tier Test system 'greedy' or will it help cricket survive?

From BBC

Rather, this a lean showdown between self-control and gluttony, between our modest heroes and a greedy titan.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• eager 
• hungry 
• impatient 
• rapacious 
• selfish 

When To Use

What does greedy mean?

Greedy means filled with greed—an excessive desire for more, especially for more money and possessions.It can be used to describe people, as in greedy billionaires, or actions that are based on greed, as in It was a greedy scheme to squeeze more money out of people.  Greed and greedy are always used negatively to criticize the excessive desire for more.Greed is often thought to influence people to do bad things in their obsession to acquire more money or more stuff. In the expression “the love of money is the root of all evil,” the love of money is another way of saying being greedy.Less commonly, greedy can mean the same thing as gluttonous—having an excessive desire for food.Example: These greedy hedge fund managers have more money than they can spend in a lifetime, yet they insist on trying to get away with paying the least amount of taxes possible.