olive drab
Americannoun
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a deep olive color.
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woolen cloth of this color, used especially for U.S. Army uniforms.
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a military uniform made from this cloth.
noun
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a dull but fairly strong greyish-olive colour
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( as adjective )
an olive-drab jacket
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OD. cloth or clothes in this colour, esp the uniform of the US Army
Etymology
Origin of olive drab
First recorded in 1895–1900
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One manufacturer’s idea of khaki or olive drab, for example, might not match another’s—a serious problem when thousands of yards of uniform fabric had to be dyed the same shade.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
But the armed men with severe expressions who appeared in the doorway were wearing military uniforms different from the olive drab fatigues she had seen on Israeli soldiers.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 20, 2023
Wearing the olive drab that has marked his transformation into a wartime leader, he looked visibly exhausted yet animated by a drive to persevere.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 9, 2022
There are prosecutors in suits and ties and soldiers in olive drab camouflage and combat boots.
From New York Times • Dec. 27, 2019
In addition to the vice minister of justice, Russian doctors, dignitaries from other health organizations, and ten Russian generals in olive drab uniforms sat on one side of the assembled tables.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
