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
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
Cats, however, may turn out to be the canaries in the coalmines — pardon the mixed metaphor.
—
Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 24 Dec. 2024
There is a loud warning in all of this, and Batman is sort of the canary in the coal mine.
—Mark Hughes, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024
In a lot of ways, Yastrzemski is a canary in the coal mine.
—Grant Brisbee, The Athletic, 22 Nov. 2024
The songbirds, like canaries and starlings and so forth.
—Janna Levin, Quanta Magazine, 21 Nov. 2024
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Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 24 Dec. 2024
There is a loud warning in all of this, and Batman is sort of the canary in the coal mine.
—Mark Hughes, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024
In a lot of ways, Yastrzemski is a canary in the coal mine.
—Grant Brisbee, The Athletic, 22 Nov. 2024
The songbirds, like canaries and starlings and so forth.
—Janna Levin, Quanta Magazine, 21 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for canary
Dictionary Entries Near canary
Cite this Entry
“Canary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canary. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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