Olivier

American

[oh-liv-ee-ey] / oʊˈlɪv iˌeɪ /

noun

Laurence (Kerr) Baron Olivier of Brighton, 1907–89, English actor and director.

Olivier British

/ əˈlɪvɪˌeɪ /

noun

Laurence ( Kerr ), Baron Olivier of Brighton. 1907–89, English stage, film, and television actor and director: director of the National Theatre Company (1961–73): films include the Shakespeare adaptations Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948), and Richard III (1956)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Co-written and directed by France’s Olivier Assayas in an adaptation of the novel by Giuliano da Empoli, the movie has the blundering, obvious feel of a made-for-cable TV item from the 1990s.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

The Tony awards celebrate the best of US theatre and is the equivalent of the UK's Olivier Awards.

From BBC • May 10, 2026

The study brought together researchers from the Marine Biodiversity Lab at the Ryan Institute, led by Dr. Maggie Reddy and Professor Olivier Thomas, along with collaborators from ETH Zurich.

From Science Daily • May 8, 2026

The outfit, designed by Olivier Rousteing, included a feathered coat and an intricate headpiece.

From Barron's • May 5, 2026

He was trembling so much he couldn’t even dress himself; Olivier had to help him.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023