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
That principle is why coal miners once brought canaries underground, as one emergency medicine doctor explained in a recent court declaration.
—
Lisa Song, ProPublica, 7 May 2026
If canaries in coal mines were harbingers of safe conditions, surely piping plovers at Waukegan Beach mean the city is overcoming its polluted past.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
Glossy rosettes emerge green and blush rosy when temperatures dips, then burst into canary-yellow flowers emerge in late summer-early fall.
—Erica Browne Grivas, Midwest Living, 4 May 2026
The canary trap is a simple tool often used to identify leakers or double agents.
—Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for canary
Lisa Song, ProPublica, 7 May 2026
If canaries in coal mines were harbingers of safe conditions, surely piping plovers at Waukegan Beach mean the city is overcoming its polluted past.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
Glossy rosettes emerge green and blush rosy when temperatures dips, then burst into canary-yellow flowers emerge in late summer-early fall.
—Erica Browne Grivas, Midwest Living, 4 May 2026
The canary trap is a simple tool often used to identify leakers or double agents.
—Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for canary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for canary
Noun
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According to prosecutors, the officers went to a home with an informant to make a firearms purchase.—
Sara Tenenbaum,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
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Fagan and Edwards proceeded to draw and point their own firearms at the officers and the informant.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
11 June 2026
Noun
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One of State Security’s main goals, as well as a central source of its strength, is turning civilians into informers.—
Abraham Jiménez Enoa,
The Dial,
19 May 2026
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And so every regime invests in having student informers.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Acetamiprid is a neonicotinoid, modeled after nicotine, which was used as rat poison and insecticide as far back as the 1600s.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN Money,
9 June 2026
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Residents living near a home off West Lexington Street say the property has been a persistent problem for years, attracting rats, insects, and unauthorized visitors.—
Drew Aunkst,
CBS News,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Canary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canary. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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