Definition of "olive"

olive

/ˈɒl.ɪv/

noun
plural olives
1. A tree, Olea europaea, cultivated since ancient times in the Mediterranean for its fruit and the oil obtained from it.
2. The small oval fruit of this tree, eaten ripe (usually black) or unripe (usually green).
3. The wood of the olive tree.
4. A dark yellowish-green color, that of an unripe olive.
5. (neuroanatomy) An olivary body, part of the medulla oblongata.
6. A component of a plumbing compression joint; a ring which is placed between the nut and the pipe and compressed during fastening to provide a seal.
7. (cooking) A small slice of meat seasoned, rolled up, and cooked.
8. Any shell of the genus Oliva and allied genera; so called from the shape.
9. (UK, dialect) An oystercatcher, a shore bird.
adjective
comparative more olive, superlative most olive
1. Of a grayish green color, that of an unripe olive.
  Quotations
  Appleby […] rose from his seat when Morales came in. He shook hands urbanely, unbuckled his sword, and laid his kepi on the table, and then sat down with an expression of concern in his olive face which Appleby fancied was assumed.
  1907, Harold Edward Bindloss, chapter 22, in The Dust of Conflict‎
  The “little green men”—faces covered, wearing unmarked olive uniforms, speaking Russian and using Russian weapons—have played a significant role in both the occupation of Crimea and the civil war in eastern Ukraine.196
  2015, Shane R. Reeves, David Wallace, “The Combatant Status of the “Little Green Men” and Other Participants in the Ukraine Conflict”, in International Law Studies, US Naval War College‎, volume 91, number 361, Stockton Center for the Study of International Law, page 393