olive

Pluralolives

1. 1
   nouncountable

   A small oval fruit eaten green when unripe or black when ripe, often used in cooking.

   Like a small grape that tastes salty or bitter instead of sweet.

   I added a green olive to my salad.

   She bought a jar of black olives at the store.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   A Mediterranean tree grown since ancient times for its fruit and the oil made from it.

   Like an apple tree, but it grows olives instead of apples.

   An olive can live for hundreds of years in dry, sunny soil.

   Farmers prune their olives each winter to improve the harvest.

   Note
3. 3
   nouncountable or uncountable

   A dark yellowish-green color, like an unripe olive.

   Like the dull green color of many army uniforms.

   She painted the spare room a soft olive.

   His jacket was a faded olive that matched his boots.

4. 4
   adjective

   Having a grayish-green color, like an unripe olive.

   She wore an olive coat to the park.

   The soldiers had olive uniforms.

   Note
5. 5
   noununcountable

   Wood that comes from the olive tree, often used for carving and small items.

   Like oak or pine wood, but it comes from an olive tree.

   The bowl was carved from a single piece of olive.

   Craftsmen prize olive for its fine, swirling grain.

6. 6
   nouncountable

   A thin slice of meat that is seasoned, rolled up, and cooked.

   Like a small roll of meat wrapped around a tasty filling.

   The cook browned each olive before simmering it in gravy.

   These olives were stuffed with sausage meat and slow-cooked.

   Similarroulade

   Note
7. 7
   nouncountable

   A small ring placed between the nut and the pipe in a plumbing joint, squeezed tight to make a seal.

   Like a metal ring that gets squeezed tight to plug any gaps around a pipe.

   The plumber slid a new olive onto the copper pipe.

   If the joint leaks, replace the olive inside the fitting.

   Similarferrule

8. 8
   nouncountable

   A small oval bump on the lower part of the brain stem.

   Shaped like a small olive, which is how it got its name.

   The doctor pointed to the olive on the brain scan.

   Each olive sits low on the brain stem, near the spinal cord.

   Note
9. 9
   nouncountable

   A smooth, oval sea shell named for its olive-like shape.

   Shaped like an olive, which is how the shell got its name.

   She found a shiny olive on the beach.

   The collector kept dozens of olives in a glass case.

   Note
10. 10
    noundialectalUKcountable

    A black-and-white shore bird with a long orange bill that feeds on shellfish.

    We watched an olive probing the mud for shellfish along the shore.

    A pair of olives nested on the shingle beach.

    Similaroystercatcher

    Note

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