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 New York Times first reported on the informant inside the regime.—
Phil Helsel,
NBC news,
4 Jan. 2026
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In a separate court filing submitted Monday, Cole’s attorneys also demanded broad discovery, including all statements attributed to him, investigative notes, information about the FBI’s use of informants to identify Cole as a suspect, and any exculpatory material.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
29 Dec. 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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However, there are numerous animal studies on mice and rats that show positive effects of intermittent fasting to improve insulin sensitivity and normalize blood glucose levels.—
Bryant Stamford,
Louisville Courier Journal,
6 Nov. 2025
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By day there are parades, rat control events, and grand juries to attend, but night is when the mayor comes alive, at crypto coin launch events, sweaty outer borough raves sponsored by a new credit card, and downtime at his pad in Fort Lee.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Canary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canary. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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