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Glite Dictionary
olive green

olive green

1 2.4
A dark yellowish green color like leaves and army uniforms
  • noun
  • /ˈɑlɪv ɡrin/
translation icon : verde oliva
  • She chose an olive green dress that reminded her of the lush trees in the park.
  • olive green pants
  • wearing olive green

So I'm going to peel back that lime green and there is now it's kind of like a faded khaki color, like it's a light olive green for autumn.

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Examples

  • I wore my brand new olive green suede boots in the rain.

  • His pants were olive green; his hands were in his pockets.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • So this green, this olive green is just stunning.

  • Everybody can be dressed in olive green and and blue.

  • Note the matte, olive green appearance of the surface.

    Academic text (2009)

  • And then I got these olive green sweatpants and I'm such a sweatpant person.

  • On the tiled floor beside him sat an olive green medium-sized duffel bag, zipped shut.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The olive green of the saguaros reminds him of a tank's armor, and there's a glare that makes him feel thirsty.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • It's somewhat close to the olive green of the MKBHD merge tag tee I'm wearing with just a slight tint.

  • He was wearing an olive green cashmere overcoat she had never seen before; the color made his flushed cheeks and fair hair vivid.

    Fiction book (1996)

Synonyms

olive-colored
vsolive green
1 3.7

A yellow-green color like green olives

is more consistently brighter and more vibrant green rather than muted tones
olive-green
vsolive green
2.9

A yellowish green color slightly lighter than dark green

is a similar shade yet appears even lighter and more vivid green

How Olive

olive green
1 2.4
olive drab
1 5.1

Surface Forms

olive green singular
olive greens plural

Morphology

olive + green

The meaning is directly compositional: 'olive' specifies a particular shade and 'green' names the color, so together they denote a green similar to olives. Color‑modifier compounds are cross‑linguistically common and follow a transparent modifier + noun pattern that a B1 learner who knows both words can infer.

Etymology

Olive green comes from the pale green of olive fruit skin. That image explains why 'olive green' means a light, natural green.