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

The insurance crisis is the canary in the coal mine for the climate crisis. —Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025

Residents can own pet canaries, finches, parakeets, love birds, parrots, softbill birds, fishes for aquaria and nonpoisonous reptiles, though. —Bella Waters, Kansas City Star, 25 July 2025

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

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