Meaning & use
onto greener pastures
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrasefigurative
to a new place or situation that seems better than the present one
Grammar: Used after verbs of movement such as 'move' or 'go': They moved onto greener pastures.
Patterns
- move onto greener pastures
- go onto greener pastures
- head onto greener pastures
After ten years in the same job, she decided to move onto greener pastures.
The whole team left the company and went onto greener pastures.
Some farmers sold their land and headed onto greener pastures in the north.
Common combinations
- move onto greener pastures
- He moved onto greener pastures after the company changed owners.
- go onto greener pastures
- Many young workers go onto greener pastures when they find better pay elsewhere.
- head onto greener pastures
- The band headed onto greener pastures and signed with a bigger label.
- leave for greener pastures
- She left for greener pastures after finishing her degree.
Synonyms and how they differ
- to better things
- Similar meaning, but 'to better things' is more general and can refer to any improvement, not only a new place.
- on to the next thing
- More informal and neutral about whether the next thing is better.
Commonly confused: onto greener pastures or greener grass?
onto greener pastures vs greener grass
This is part of the proverb 'The grass is always greener on the other side', which means other people's situations often seem better than your own. 'Onto greener pastures' is a related but different phrase about actually moving somewhere new.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'onto greener pastures' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase is 'onto greener pastures', so 'onto' is the correct preposition. 'In', 'on' and 'at' do not fit this idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “onto greener pastures”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.