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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
Others suggested Army Air Corps camouflage: dark olive drab, medium green, neutral gray.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 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
“It’s like khaki isn’t just one color. There’s olive drab khaki, there’s darker-brown khaki, there’s lighter-brown khaki.”
From Washington Post ● Feb. 11, 2022
There are prosecutors in suits and ties and soldiers in olive drab camouflage and combat boots.
From New York Times ● Dec. 27, 2019
The prevailing color of life in America is a dull, dark green called olive drab.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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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.