olive drab
Americannoun
-
olive drabs
plural
-
a deep olive color.
-
woolen cloth of this color, used especially for U.S. Army uniforms.
-
a military uniform made from this cloth.
noun
-
-
a dull but fairly strong greyish-olive colour
-
( as adjective )
an olive-drab jacket
-
-
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
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
“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
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.
