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
A cropped sequined black moto jacket/bolero with leg-of-mutton sleeves came matched with an olive drab corset atop a camo ruffled skirt.
From New York Times • Feb. 10, 2020
Dormitory windows began to fly open and olive drab blankets were hung over the sills by the dozens to air.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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.
