olive

/ˈɑləv/

/ˈɒlɪv/

Other forms: olives

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.

Definitions of olive

1. noun

   small ovoid fruit of the European olive tree; important food and source of oil
   type of:

   fruit

   the ripened reproductive body of a seed plant
2. noun

   one-seeded fruit of the European olive tree usually pickled and used as a relish
   types:

   black olive, ripe olive

   olives picked ripe and cured in brine then dried or pickled or preserved canned or in oil

   green olive

   olives picked green and pickled in brine; infrequently stuffed with e.g. pimento

   type of:

   relish

   spicy or savory condiment

   drupe, stone fruit

   fleshy indehiscent fruit with a single seed: e.g. almond; peach; plum; cherry; elderberry; olive; jujube
3. noun

   evergreen tree cultivated in the Mediterranean region since antiquity and now elsewhere; has edible shiny black fruits
   synonyms: European olive tree, Olea europaea

   type of:

   olive tree

   a tree of the genus Olea cultivated for its fruit
4. noun

   hard yellow often variegated wood of an olive tree; used in cabinetwork
   type of:

   wood

   the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
5. noun

   a yellow-green color of low brightness and saturation
   types:

   drab, olive drab

   a dull greyish to yellowish or light olive brown

   type of:

   chromatic color, chromatic colour, spectral color, spectral colour

   a color that has hue
6. adjective

   of a yellow-green color similar to that of an unripe olive
   synonyms:

   chromatic

   being, having, or characterized by hue