plural canaries
1
: a Canary Islands usually sweet wine similar to Madeira
2
: a lively 16th century court dance
3
: a small finch (Serinus canaria synonym S. canarius) of the Canary Islands that is usually greenish to yellow and is kept as a cage bird and singer
4
slang
: informer sense 2
Examples of canary in a Sentence
a canary who was singing and giving up the names of some of the city's most notorious drug lords
Recent Examples on the Web
The Challenge and Opportunity NGOs are the canary in the coal mine.
—
Robert G. Eccles, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Charlie Sway, the fund manager, was an old prep-school friend, who knew that Jaron had an eye for the sleeping dog, an ear for the silent canary.
—Annie Proulx, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2025
In addition, the Trump Administration’s disbanding of the Federal Statistics Advisory Committee in March both eliminated one of the main engines for enhancing agency performance and, perhaps, in what should have been a concerning harbinger, abolished the canary in the data integrity coal mine.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 2 Aug. 2025
Hogan was the canary in the coal mine; what came out was John Cena and a CGI eagle.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for canary
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Robert G. Eccles, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Charlie Sway, the fund manager, was an old prep-school friend, who knew that Jaron had an eye for the sleeping dog, an ear for the silent canary.
—Annie Proulx, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2025
In addition, the Trump Administration’s disbanding of the Federal Statistics Advisory Committee in March both eliminated one of the main engines for enhancing agency performance and, perhaps, in what should have been a concerning harbinger, abolished the canary in the data integrity coal mine.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 2 Aug. 2025
Hogan was the canary in the coal mine; what came out was John Cena and a CGI eagle.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for canary
Cite this Entry
“Canary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canary. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
canary
noun
ca·nary
kə-ˈne(ə)r-ē 
plural canaries
: a small usually yellow or greenish finch native to the Canary Islands that is often kept in a cage
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share