olive
olive — noun
1. a small oval fruit, green when young and turning black as it ripens, with a shar
a small oval fruit, green when young and turning black as it ripens, with a sharp salty taste; eaten whole or pressed to make cooking oil. The same word also names the silver-leaved tree it grows on, common around the Mediterranean.
Nikos picked a black olive from the bowl and dropped it into his salad.
countable: a/an + olive (singular fruit)
The pizza was topped with feta cheese, sliced tomatoes, and a handful of green olives.
plural 'olives' as a food ingredient
Paloma's grandmother still presses her own oil from the olives in their backyard.
Hundreds of ancient olives line the dry hillsides above the village in Crete.
Tuan ordered a martini with three olives stuck on a wooden stick.
文法句型
a/the olive
olives (plural)
用法筆記
The same word covers both the small fruit and the tree that bears it; context (especially the verb and surrounding nouns) tells you which. With 'pick', 'eat', 'pit', or 'press', the fruit is meant; with 'plant', 'grow', or 'shade', the tree is meant.
常見錯誤
2. a dull yellow-green colour, similar to the skin of an unripe olive fruit. Often
a dull yellow-green colour, similar to the skin of an unripe olive fruit. Often used as a quiet, natural-looking shade in clothing, paint, and military uniforms.
Adina painted the spare bedroom a soft olive that calmed the whole room.
olive as a noun naming a colour
The army jacket had faded from a sharp olive to a dusty grey-green.
from olive to [other colour] — colour change
Joon chose a deep olive for the kitchen cabinets instead of plain white.
The new sofa came in three colours: navy, charcoal, and olive.
- olive green
more explicit; specifies the green direction of the shade
- khaki
browner and dustier; common for army uniforms and trousers
文法句型
the colour olive
in olive
用法筆記
Often paired with another colour word for precision: 'olive green' (more green) or 'olive brown' (darker, earthier). 'Olive' alone is enough when the context is clearly about colour, e.g. paint chips, fabric swatches, or fashion.
常見錯誤
olive — adjective
1. having a dull yellow-green colour like an unripe olive. Also used to describe hu
having a dull yellow-green colour like an unripe olive. Also used to describe human skin that has a warm, light-brown tone with a slight green-yellow undertone, common around the Mediterranean and parts of Asia.
Élise wore an olive linen dress that suited the warm summer evening.
attributive: olive + noun (clothing colour)
Darius has olive skin and dark, curly hair like his mother.
olive skin (skin tone)
The bathroom tiles are a soft olive colour that pairs well with brass taps.
Kemi's new car was olive, somewhere between green and brown depending on the light.
- olive-green
hyphenated form; emphasises the green side of the shade
- khaki
warmer and browner; not used for skin
文法句型
olive + noun
be olive
用法筆記
Frequently strengthened with another colour word — 'olive green' for paint and fabric, 'olive-skinned' for people. As an adjective for skin, 'olive' is descriptive and neutral; it does not carry the negative associations 'sallow' has.