Word.ws English Dictionary

green ban

green ban noun: a ban instigated by a trade union on construction or demolition work on a site deemed to be of cultural, historical or environmental significance.

Noun

green ban (plural green bans)

  1. (Australia, UK) A ban instigated by a trade union on construction or demolition work on a site deemed to be of cultural, historical or environmental significance.
    • Though the overall, long-term effects of green bans are far from clear, they have caused a dramatic eruption of environmental concern into Australian thinking.1973, Conservation Foundation, Conservation Foundation Letter, page 8
    • A unique and important coalition between environmentalists and labor unions has come about in Australia, in a movement known as “the Green Bans.” […] Essentially the Green Ban is a labor veto of socially and ecologically unsound plans. […] After careful consideration and a public meeting, the union...1978 June, Harvey Wasserman, Unionizing Ecotopia, Mother Jones, page 32

Examples of green ban in a sentence

  • In consequence they imposed green bans, a move which effectively prevented the execution of policy and forced a stay on proceedings.1975, Richard Lucy, The Pieces of Politics, page 112:
  • One of the most interesting strategic alliances around environmental politics in the city was the Green Ban Movement that was active in Sydney from the early to mid 1970s.1999, Steve Pile, Gerry Mooney, Chris Brook, Unruly Cities?: Order/Disorder, page 202:

Forms of green ban

pluralgreen bans

Origin of green ban

From green (“environmentally friendly”) + ban. First attested in Australia in 1973.

Questions about green ban

What does green ban mean?
Green ban means a ban instigated by a trade union on construction or demolition work on a site deemed to be of cultural, historical or environmental significance.
How do you use green ban in a sentence?
In consequence they imposed green bans, a move which effectively prevented the execution of policy and forced a stay on proceedings.
What part of speech is green ban?
Green ban is a noun.
What is the plural of green ban?
The plural of green ban is green bans.

Words near green ban in the dictionary

  1. green bacterium
  2. green bag
  3. green bags
  4. green baize
  5. green baizes
  6. green ban
  7. green band
  8. green bans
  9. green bass
  10. Green Bay
  11. green bean

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: green ban (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: EN-AU ck1 green ban.ogg.

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