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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

His estranged brother’s decision to move back puts the heir to the throne under pressure to extend an olive branch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Lightly coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil and set it over medium heat.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

The diet emphasizes fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, nuts, and olive oil — and limiting foods like red meat, cheese and sugar.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026

Devlet Bahceli, a close Erdogan ally and head of the hardline nationalist MHP whose unexpected olive branch to Ocalan kickstarted the process in October 2024, also hailed the vote.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Singing, we leave Toledo, crossing the bridge across the Río Tajo, then going past the vineyards and olive groves, and take to the road, not knowing what dangers might await us.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

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

Within the conference, the biggest area belonged to Olive Young Festa market, which was filled with beauty brands trying to get their name in front of people.

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

Kate and the couple’s two children, Olive and Wesley, quickly settle into their classrooms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Esme and Grammy go stand on each side of Olive and put their arms around her shoulders.

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

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

At its core, dirty martini dip combines olives, cheese and olive brine into one highly scoopable spread.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

The basic formula combines pasta with olives, olive brine, lemon, garlic and a creamy cheese like feta or blue cheese.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

Klaus peeled the tomatoes and pitted the olives.

From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket

Related Words

• beige
• brownish
• drab
• khaki