greens
n. C / Un. Leafy vegetables like spinach or kale that you cook and eat. People often use this word when talking about eating a healthy diet.
n. leafy green vegetables, typically those that are cooked before consumption. Plural in form and treated as a plural noun.
You should eat your greens to stay healthy.
The chef served the grilled salmon on a bed of sautéed greens with a squeeze of lemon.
Nutritionists emphasize the importance of incorporating dark leafy greens into daily meals due to their high concentration of essential vitamins and minerals.
From Middle English grenes, equivalent to green + -s. Compare Saterland Frisian Gräinieten (“vegetable”), West Frisian grienten (“vegetables, greens”), Dutch groenten (“vegetables, greens”), German Low German Gröönten (“vegetables, greens”), Danish grøntsager (“vegetables”), Swedish grönsaker (“vegetables”).
From green (verb).
Usually appears in the plural form when referring to vegetables; the singular 'green' is rarely used in this culinary sense.
I like to eat green for dinnerI like to eat greens for dinnerWhen referring to vegetables, the word must be plural.