as in informant
a person who provides information about another's wrongdoing
a canary who was singing and giving up the names of some of the city's most notorious drug lords
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of canary
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
The record number of defaults is a canary in the coal mine for large-scale economic problems, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) warned.
—Betty Lin-Fisher, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for canary
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
The record number of defaults is a canary in the coal mine for large-scale economic problems, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) warned.
—Betty Lin-Fisher, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for canary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for canary
Noun
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The source of the information was an informant, a former friend and associate of Farzam who turned on him, according to state DOJ investigation reports obtained by CNN.—
Ray Sanchez,
CNN Money,
2 Nov. 2025
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Donaghy’s scheme was only discovered through a broader FBI investigation of organized crime figures when an informant gave them a tip.—
David Hill,
Rolling Stone,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Frizer and Skeres were fraudsters, and the sinister Poley was an informer, crucial to the exposure of the Babington Plot.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
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Option 2: If one prisoner informs while the other stays silent, the informer will go free while the silent one receives the harshest sentence.—
Michael Ashley,
Forbes.com,
29 July 2025
Noun
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These are like dollar store rats.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
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According to a study recently published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation, rat predation may cause enough damage to significantly threaten local bat populations.—
Sarah Durn,
Popular Science,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Canary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canary. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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