black-and-white

1 of 3

adjective

1
: partly black and partly white in color
2
: being in writing or print
3
: executed in dark pigment on a light background or in light pigment on a dark ground
a black-and-white drawing
4
: monochrome sense 2
black-and-white film
black-and-white television
5
a
: sharply divided into good and evil
b
: evaluating or viewing things as either all good or all bad
black-and-white morality
c
: sharply defined : clear-cut
the truth is not always black-and-white

black-and-white

2 of 3

noun (1)

black and white

3 of 3

noun (2)

1
2
: a drawing or print done in black and white or in monochrome
3
: monochrome reproduction of visual images (as by photography or television)

Examples of black-and-white in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Ensemble members, in black-and-white streetwear, carry cameras mounted on Steadicam frames, shooting live closeups of the main characters: Scherzinger’s Norma; the screenwriter Joe (Tom Francis); and Max (David Thaxton), Norma’s butler and chief enabler. Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024 Watch the black-and-white visual, directed by Masood Ahmed, below. Matthew Strauss, Pitchfork, 25 Oct. 2024
Noun
Tanaka, 39, chose a sweet black-and-white shot of the couple smiling together to share alongside his birthday message. Rachel Desantis, Peoplemag, 28 Mar. 2023 While most Americans had a TV by the early 1960s, most of those were black-and-white sets. Matt Novak, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023 See all Example Sentences for black-and-white 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'black-and-white.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

from a common color scheme for such cars

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (1)

1958, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1569, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of black-and-white was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near black-and-white

black-and-tan coonhound

black-and-white

black and white

Cite this Entry

“Black-and-white.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/black-and-white. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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