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

The sculpture depicts a female figure, her cloak billowing out in the shape of a seed around her and etched with more than 300 global symbols of peace, holding olive branches and surrounded by six children, each representing a continent. — Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 22 Aug. 2026

For its part, North Korea has not responded positively to Trump’s new olive branch. — Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026

UniCredit's push to control Commerzbank had previously been met with opposition in Germany, but today's comments reflect an olive branch extended by the target firm. — Sean Conlon,joseph Wilkins,justina Lee,tanaya MacHeel, CNBC, 5 Aug. 2026

Some people close to the situation see that as a small but meaningful olive branch. — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 23 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for olive branch

• avalanche
• blanch
• cranch
• manche
• ranch
• stanch
• tranche

Kids Definition

olive branch

noun

1

: 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