black
adjective
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Definition of black
(Entry 1 of 6)
b or Black
black
nounDefinition of black (Entry 2 of 6)
black
verbDefinition of black (Entry 3 of 6)
Black
biographical name (1)
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Definition of Black (Entry 4 of 6)
Black
biographical name (2)Definition of Black (Entry 5 of 6)
Black
geographical nameDefinition of Black (Entry 6 of 6)
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or in Vietnam Da \ ˈdä
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river 500 miles (805 kilometers) long in southeastern Asia rising in central Yunnan, China, and flowing southeast to the Red River in northern Vietnam
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Other Words from black
Adjective
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adjective
Synonyms & Antonyms for black
Synonyms: Adjective
ebony, pitch-black, pitch-dark, pitchy, raven, sable
Synonyms: Noun
blackness, candlelight, dark, darkness, dusk, gloaming, gloom, murk, night, semidarkness, shade, shadows, twilight, umbra
Antonyms: Adjective
Antonyms: Noun
blaze, brightness, brilliance, day, daylight, glare, glow, light, lightness
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Examples of black in a Sentence
Adjective
a little black dress blends into the night very wellNoun
The wall was painted in black. a mixture of grays and blacks She was dressed in black.Verb
He blacked his boots with polish. Labor union members have blacked the company.
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
At his home near Kansas City, Carter Buschardt loves to sit in his living room and take in the cozy surroundings—including a view of his black ’59 Thunderbird convertible. — Candace Taylor, WSJ, "The Super-Luxury Show Garage," 7 Mar. 2019 Match your friend's farmhouse with a distressed white number, or keep it classic with timeless black wood. — Blair Donovan, Country Living, "Minted's Heart Snapshot Mix Photo Art Is THE Perfect Gift for Your Nearest and Dearest," 5 Mar. 2019 The researchers dressed both horses and zebras in black coats, white coats, and striped zebra coats. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Scientists Dressed Horses as Zebras to Learn What Stripes Are For," 25 Feb. 2019 Upon assuming the reins in 1983, Lagerfeld swiftly revived Chanel, reinterpreting the house founder’s iconic tweed skirtsuits, little black dresses, and quilted handbags. — Nicole Phelps, Vogue, "Legendary Designer Karl Lagerfeld Has Died," 19 Feb. 2019 Stepping out for the 5th Annual Hollywood Beauty Awards, Kim Kardashian West wore an extremely revealing black dress on the red carpet that left nothing to the imagination. — Amy Mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "Kim Kardashian Narrowly Avoids a Wardrobe Malfunction in Vintage Thierry Mugler Cut-Out Gown," 18 Feb. 2019 The Duchess made a public visit to the London nonprofit last month wearing fierce Gianvito Rossi heels and a knit black maternity dress. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "This $20 Meghan Markle Look-Alike Dress Has Over 1,000 Rave Reviews," 11 Feb. 2019 The Duchess looked chic in a tuxedo-style black dress for that event. — Maggie Maloney, Town & Country, "Meghan Markle Wore a Gown By Roland Mouret to a Charity Performance of Cirque du Soleil at Royal Albert Hall," 16 Jan. 2019 According to English, Meghan is wearing a tan trench coat by Oscar de la Renta at over £2k, earrings by Kimai, and a black dress by maternity line Hatch at £170. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "Meghan Markle Makes a Surprise Royal Visit Today in an Oscar de la Renta Trench Coat," 10 Jan. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The black was an outlier, though; most of Hu’s dresses are bursting with color. — Emily Farra, Vogue, "Caroline Hu Is Our First Discovery of NYFW—And Her Dresses Belong at the Oscars," 10 Feb. 2019 For so long, the film industry has only been able to conceive of black, brown, and Asian woman as ancillary parts to white narratives. — Kyndall Cunningham, Glamour, "The Oscar Race Is All About Gaga vs. Glenn—But What About Women of Color?," 22 Jan. 2019 In parallel, the couple set out to redecorate the entire apartment, trading its earlier scheme of white-and-gray minimalism for a more textured palette of black, grays, and neutrals. — Nick Sullivan, ELLE Decor, "A Snug New York Bachelor Pad Is Morphed Into a Swank and Spacious Home," 20 Nov. 2018 Color coordinated in black with pops of red and white, Eugenie wore a floral Erdem dress, and Jack sported a suit. — Nicole Saunders, Harper's BAZAAR, "Princess Eugenie Celebrates the Anniversary of her Engagement to Jack Brooksbank with an Adorable Instagram Post," 23 Jan. 2019 Not to be outdone, Dell announced a 55-inch 4K Alienware monitor outfitted with a luscious OLED display for deep blacks and fantastic color reproduction. — Brad Chacos, PCWorld, "6 important CES 2019 reveals and trends that PC enthusiasts need to know about," 11 Jan. 2019 While highly educated African-Americans are now more successful than ever, the bottom appears to have fallen out for poor blacks. — The Economist, "The wage gap between white and black men is growing wider," 5 July 2018 The provisional number of births last year declined 2 percent for Hispanics, 3 percent for whites and was unchanged for blacks. — courant.com, "When It Comes To Fertility Rates, Connecticut Ranks Among The Lowest In The Country," 27 June 2018 Unemployment rates for blacks, Latinos and all Americans began a steady decline in late 2009 that has continued since Trump took office. — Jim Puzzanghera, latimes.com, "Trump claims credit for the strong labor market. Experts say he also should thank Obama," 26 June 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Reddington recalled blacking in and out as someone called 911 for help. — Katherine Lam, Fox News, "Man accidentally shot by FBI agent in a Denver nightclub recalls bizarre incident," 10 June 2018 Reddington recalled blacking in and out as someone called 911 for help. — Katherine Lam, Fox News, "Man accidentally shot by FBI agent in a Denver nightclub recalls bizarre incident," 10 June 2018 Reddington recalled blacking in and out as someone called 911 for help. — Katherine Lam, Fox News, "Man accidentally shot by FBI agent in a Denver nightclub recalls bizarre incident," 10 June 2018 The collection is available in a range of three materials in Dell’Acqua's go-to pink and black, as well as Tod’s signature brown leather. — Isabel Greenberg, Harper's BAZAAR, "Tod’s Is Launching Their First Factory Capsule Collection with Alessandro Dell’Acqua," 19 Nov. 2018 Reddington recalled blacking in and out as someone called 911 for help. — Katherine Lam, Fox News, "Man accidentally shot by FBI agent in a Denver nightclub recalls bizarre incident," 10 June 2018 Reddington recalled blacking in and out as someone called 911 for help. — Katherine Lam, Fox News, "Man accidentally shot by FBI agent in a Denver nightclub recalls bizarre incident," 10 June 2018 Instead, Giuliani deflects to black-on-black crime. — Jeneé Osterheldt, kansascity, "Turn our anger into change," 25 Nov. 2014 In other words, will black and brown doulas be displaced? — Danielle Jackson, Longreads, "A Frustrating Year of Reporting on Black Maternal Health," 14 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'black.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for black
black
nounFinancial Definition of black
What It Is
Black is slang for profit. Profit, also called net income, is the amount remaining after all costs, depreciation, interest, taxes, and other expenses have been deducted from total sales. Profit is also referred to as the bottom line, net profit, or net earnings. The formula for profit is:
Total Sales - Total Expenses = Profit
Note that preferred stock dividends are typically included in the traditional net income calculation, but common stock dividends are not.
How It Works
Here is some information about Company XYZ for last year:
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Using the formula and the information above, we can calculate that Company XYZ's profit was:
$1,000,000 - $500,000 - $300,000 - $100,000 - $5,000 + $1,000 - $10,000 - $10,000 = $76,000
This means that Company XYZ made $76,000 of profit last year. It was “in the black.”
Why It Matters
Philosophically speaking, being in the black is what motivates industry, entrepreneurship, and innovation. It is the very thing that enables people to feed themselves, clothe their families, create jobs, and set money aside for the future. It is not a vice, but rather an incentive to dream, take risks, and try harder. As Adam Smith, the founder of modern economics, put it, "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.”
In the retail industry, companies often don’t become profitable until the fourth quarter, when Christmas shopping begins. This is the source of the term “Black Friday.”
Source: Investing Answers
black
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of black
(Entry 1 of 3)
black
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of black (Entry 2 of 3)
black
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of black (Entry 3 of 3)
See the full definition for black in the English Language Learners Dictionary
black
adjective
\
Kids Definition of black
(Entry 1 of 3)
black
nounKids Definition of black (Entry 2 of 3)
black
verbKids Definition of black (Entry 3 of 3)
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