greenhouse

Everyday

1. A greenhouse is a building made mostly of glass or clear plastic where plants are grown because it stays warm inside. tree →
2. The greenhouse effect is the way some gases in the air trap the sun's heat and keep the Earth warm. tree →
3. Greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide and methane, trap heat; more of them makes the planet warmer. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons a greenhouse shows how glass traps heat; this is used to explain the greenhouse effect and climate change. In everyday life gardeners grow tomatoes and seedlings in greenhouses. Phrases: greenhouse effect, greenhouse gases, greenhouse emissions.

Examples

• Grandad grows tomatoes in his greenhouse. tree →
• It is warm inside the greenhouse even in spring. tree →
• Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. tree →
• The greenhouse effect keeps the Earth warm enough for life. tree →
• Burning coal adds more greenhouse gases to the air. tree →
• We built a mini greenhouse from a plastic bottle. tree →
• The greenhouse windows were covered with drops of water. tree →
• So they went into Death's great greenhouse, where flowers and trees grew strangely into one another. tree →

Note

Countable: a greenhouse, greenhouses. Not a green-coloured house! Myth: the greenhouse effect itself is natural and needed for life; the problem is too much of it, from extra greenhouse gases, warming the planet. British also say «glasshouse».