black death

noun, often capitalized B&D

Updated on: 15 Mar 2018

Definition of black death

1 : plague 2b

2 : a severe epidemic of plague and especially bubonic plague that occurred in Asia and Europe in the 14th century

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Recent Examples of black death from the Web

Adeyemi focuses on the obstacles to Zélie’s mission, staging scenes that obviously parallel the spectacle of police brutality and black death in America.

— vann r. newkirk ii, The Atlantic, "Where Fantasy Meets Black Lives Matter," 6 Mar. 2018
The models are given short paragraphs taken from more than 500 Wikipedia pages spanning a range of subjects, including Jacksonville, Florida; economic inequality; and the black death.

— drew harwell, The Seattle Times, "AI’s ability to read is hailed as milestone, but there’s still long way to go," 21 Jan. 2018
Unfortunately, the nation of 24 million has a point of infamy these days: The island nation is the site of the black death, the very same plague that decimated Europe many centuries ago.

— angela helm, The Root, "124 Dead in Outbreak of the Bubonic Plague in Madagascar (We Kid You Not)," 25 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'black death.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.