canary

noun

ca·nary | \ kə-ˈner-ē

How to pronounce canary (audio)

\

plural canaries

Definition of canary

1 : a Canary Islands usually sweet wine similar to Madeira

2 : a lively 16th century court dance

3 : a small finch (Serinus canarius synonym S. canaria) 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 Example Sentences Learn More about canary

Keep scrolling for more

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

Although this process has been well studied in mice, rats and canaries among other animals, only a handful of studies have sought to discover if neurogenesis also occurs in people after childhood. — Deborah Netburn, latimes.com, "Brain tissue samples from people of all ages suggest we stop growing new neurons in our early teens," 7 Mar. 2018 Other commodity prices that are often inflation canaries, such as oil and farm products, are also down. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Time for a Fed Pause," 17 Dec. 2018 There are several canaries in the coal mine — take the case of famous actress Fan Bingbing, for instance. — Shannon Liao, The Verge, "2018 was the year Chinese internet users evaded censorship — briefly," 20 Dec. 2018 Although in recent years, not even Versace could ignore the temptation to play with an abbreviated new length and canary tipped ends, as seen at one recent Costume Institute Gala. — Mackenzie Wagoner, Vogue, "The Evolution of Donatella Versace’s Va-Va-Voom Beauty Look—From Blonde to Blonder," 2 Dec. 2018 This is the eternal test of mankind, and Jews are once more canaries in the coal mine. — Dani Dayan, WSJ, "Israel’s Heart Goes Out to Squirrel Hill," 28 Oct. 2018 One of her children chose the canary in the Victorian birdcage. — Liana Satenstein, Vogue, "Supermodel Maggie Rizer Adds Store Owner to Her Fashion Résumé," 14 Nov. 2018 While the cancellation of the FYF Fest may have served as a canary in a coal mine moment for the concert industry, festivals with a niche may prove to be the way forward. — Chris Barton, latimes.com, "Looking beyond the headliners at Arroyo Seco Weekend," 20 June 2018 And many companies continue to focus only on recruitment instead of retention, which Blanche likened to seeing that the canary in the coal mine is having problems and throwing in 50 more canaries as a solution. — Tracey Lien, latimes.com, "As diversity progress in Silicon Valley stalls, advocates call for a new approach," 4 June 2018

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

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for canary

canary

noun

English Language Learners Definition of canary

: a small usually yellow or green tropical bird that is often kept in a cage

See the full definition for canary in the English Language Learners Dictionary

canary

noun

ca·nary | \ kə-ˈner-ē

\

plural canaries

Kids Definition of canary

: a small usually yellow songbird often kept in a cage

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

scavenger

one that collects or salvages junk

Test Your Vocabulary

Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which came first?

snarky sarcastic

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ

Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ