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• olive
  olive

  noun

  an evergreen tree, Olea europaea, of Mediterranean and other warm regions, cultivated chiefly for its fruit.
• Olive
  Olive

  noun

  a female given name.

olive

¹ American  

[ol-iv] / ˈɒl ɪv /

noun

• olives
  plural

1. an evergreen tree, Olea europaea, of Mediterranean and other warm regions, cultivated chiefly for its fruit.

2. the fruit of this tree, a small oval drupe, eaten as a relish and used as a source of oil.

3. Also called olive wood.  the wood of this tree, valued for ornamental work.

4. the foliage of this tree.

5. a wreath of it.

6. any of various related or similar trees.

7. olive branch.

8. the ocher green or dull yellow green of the unripe olive fruit.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or made of olives, their foliage, or their fruit.

2. of the color olive.

3. tinged with this color.

   an olive complexion.

Olive ² American  

[ol-iv] / ˈɒl ɪv /

noun

1. a female given name.

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olive British  

/ ˈɒlɪv /

noun

1. an evergreen oleaceous tree, Olea europaea, of the Mediterranean region but cultivated elsewhere, having white fragrant flowers, and edible shiny black fruits

2. the fruit of this plant, eaten as a relish and used as a source of olive oil

3. the wood of the olive tree, used for ornamental work

4. any of various trees or shrubs resembling the olive

5. 1. a yellow-green colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      an olive coat

6. an angler's name for the dun of various mayflies or an artificial fly in imitation of this

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or made of the olive tree, its wood, or its fruit

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subolive
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• olives
  plural

Etymology

Origin of olive

1150–1200; Middle English < Old French < Latin olīva, by-form of olea < dialectal Greek *elaíwa olive, olive tree; cf. oil, oleaceous

Explanation

An olive is a very small fruit, although you probably think of it as a savory snack. You might find an olive on a salad, on a pizza, or even on a toothpick in your martini. Olives are so naturally bitter that they're basically inedible unless they've been treated — cured with lye or salt, and then fermented. In addition to the olives you see in jars on grocery store shelves, olive trees yield an expensive, durable wood; and of course, olive oil. You can also describe the yellowish-green color of an unripe olive as olive. And when someone offers "an olive branch," they are trying to make peace or come to an understanding.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

olive Olive olives

Thousands of olive ridley turtles came to La Escobilla beach in Oaxaca, Mexico, to lay their eggs within 48 hours, according to sanctuary officials.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

We finished with vanilla ice cream, fragrant olive oil and a generous scoop of caviar.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

Permitting the yuan to appreciate nominally against the dollar might also be viewed as a sort of olive branch that could defuse the risk of a unified tariff pushback.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

The other side of the coin features a version of the US presidential seal, depicting an eagle clutching arrows and an olive branch while covered by a shield that says "250."

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

She also prepares her famous enrolladitos, swirls of bread filled with a blend of tuna fish, ketchup, and cream cheese, with an olive in the center.

From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar

She was transferred to Hunstanton Sea Life Centre in Norfolk, where a second loggerhead turtle, called Olive, has been under care since December.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

There’s Olive, 12, from Charlotte, North Carolina, whose goal is to sell 8,000 boxes and who already possesses the polished ease of someone who understands how to speak to an audience.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026

The top back row options for coach Stefanie Wigfall, who will likely pass the 400-win mark this season, are senior Olive Shum and Mira Costa transfer Blake Gurney.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

Olive oil, nuts, seafood, and other Mediterranean diet staples are often expensive, which can put the Mediterranean diet out of reach.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026

“I wonder if Olive will show,” I say, thinking aloud.

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

In her formal review, she was less forgiving: “Green olives don’t belong on Caesar and this one was lacking an adequate amount of croutons.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Kreinbrink turned her experience into a wellness retreat business where people travel to Tuscany with her to harvest olives for olive oil, make wine and craft cheese on the farm, alongside local farmers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

Serve either spritz—or both, each takes five minutes to make—with olives, an antipasti plate or, if you’d rather order in, a couple of pizzas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

As your friendly neighborhood Italian American, I’m thrilled to see olives getting their time in the spotlight.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

He was ignoring Jack’s half tub of olives.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

Related Words

• beige
• brownish
• drab
• khaki