According to Genesis, what did Noah’s dove return with?

According to Genesis, Noah’s dove returned with an olive leaf.

Genesis 8:8–11 describes Noah sending the dove out to discover whether the waters had receded. On its second return, the dove came back in the evening carrying a freshly plucked olive leaf, showing Noah that water levels had fallen from the earth.

The dove was sent again later and did not return, which Noah understood as evidence that the land had become habitable. This sequence makes the olive leaf a practical sign within the story: it indicates that vegetation was visible above the remaining waters.

The olive branch later became a widely recognized symbol of peace, but that broader symbolism developed through subsequent cultural and religious traditions. Genesis specifically describes an olive leaf, not a branch, and it does not call the object a universal peace emblem.