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
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 insurance crisis is the canary in the coal mine for the climate crisis, and the canary is dying.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 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
Black women are the canary in the coal mine on the health of the economy.
—Marianne Cooper, Time, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for canary
Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 21 Sep. 2025
The insurance crisis is the canary in the coal mine for the climate crisis, and the canary is dying.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 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
Black women are the canary in the coal mine on the health of the economy.
—Marianne Cooper, Time, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for canary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for canary
Noun
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The reasons for the feud are somewhat opaque, but the Kinahans apparently suspected that Gary Hutch was an informant for the Spanish police.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
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Meanwhile, Grasso tries to use his informant status to get Lizzie out of harm’s way.—
Grace Byron,
Vulture,
13 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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When the Chicago rat hole went viral, Magle and his team considered how the mark was made.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
16 Oct. 2025
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There are rats in Indiana who prefer a room with a view.—
Karl Schneider,
IndyStar,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Canary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canary. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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