canary

noun

ca·​nary kə-ˈner-ē 

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

Synonyms

• informant
• informer
• rat

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

Here’s what the canaries are telling us. —Big Think, 13 Oct. 2025

The outdoor areas are open from March through October, but available year-round is its Bolz Conservatory, a glass pyramid housing huge tropical plants, chirping canaries and darting quail. —Peter Cameron, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025

These early jolts serve as canaries in the coal mine. —Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025

Finally, initial jobless claims will be out Thursday morning, and the market will be looking for additional confirmation that the spike two weeks ago more of an anomaly than a canary in the coal mine. —Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 21 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French canarie, from Old Spanish canario, from Islas Canarias Canary Islands

First Known Use

1592, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing canary

• canary seed
• canary yellow
• like the cat that ate/got/swallowed the canary

Rhymes for canary

• askari
• astbury
• azeri
• banbury
• barberry
• blackberry
• blueberry
• cranberry
• dentary
• dewberry
• dogberry
• equerry

Kids 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