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olive branch
noun
1
: a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace
2
: an offer or gesture of conciliation or goodwill
Examples of olive branch in a Sentence
The winner extended an olive branch to his opponent by calling him a great player.
Recent Examples on the Web
Evans was the one to reach out and extend the olive branch.
—Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 18 May 2024
Metro Boomin is yet to react to Soulja Boy’s olive branch apology.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 15 May 2024
Related Content OpenAI is set to hit $2 billion in revenue — and fast
Is OpenAI extending an olive branch to creators and writers?
—Maxwell Zeff / Gizmodo, Quartz, 13 May 2024
Spears’s olive branch felt generous — an opportunity for Timberlake to begin the promotion of his comeback album without the aura of villainy.
—Lindsay Zoladz, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024
After months of direct confrontation in a bitter Hollywood strike, the Screen Actors Guild and Netflix are offering each other a two-hour olive branch: The 30th SAG Awards are streaming on the platform tonight for the first time ever.
—Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2024
On the same day Taylor's reputation tour kicked off in Phoenix, Perry extended a literal olive branch to the singer, who, perhaps, wasn't (ahem) ready for it.
—Ruth Kinane, EW.com, 5 Apr. 2024
There was significant local media attention given to President Xi’s meeting with US CEOs, his candor on the economy and opportunity for foreign investors/corporations, and an olive branch on mending US-China relations.
—Brendan Ahern, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Vatican police estimate there were about 60,000 people in the crowd, many holding palms and olive branches during the service.
—Greg Wehner, Fox News, 25 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'olive branch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of olive branch was
in the 14th century
Dictionary Entries Near olive branch
Cite this Entry
“Olive branch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/olive%20branch. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
Kids Definition
olive branch
noun1
: a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace
2
: something meant to show intentions of peace or goodwill
made a call to his former friend as an olive branch
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