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
These are the canaries in the coal mine for both parties, highly competitive races in states that report their votes early and quickly.
—
Andrew Solender, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024
Speaking of comeuppance, Hal was right to flag Dennison’s co-conspirator backing out of the party, as that guy seems to have been the canary in the coalmine.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2024
There is something especially disconcerting seeing Vladimir Putin smiling like the cat who ate the canary at this week’s BRICs Summit.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, TIME, 24 Oct. 2024
Over a coffee-table interrogation, with Straus sitting in, De Vido, who has light-brown hair and wears clear oval glasses, sang like a canary.
—Naaman Zhou, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for canary 
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Andrew Solender, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024
Speaking of comeuppance, Hal was right to flag Dennison’s co-conspirator backing out of the party, as that guy seems to have been the canary in the coalmine.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2024
There is something especially disconcerting seeing Vladimir Putin smiling like the cat who ate the canary at this week’s BRICs Summit.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, TIME, 24 Oct. 2024
Over a coffee-table interrogation, with Straus sitting in, De Vido, who has light-brown hair and wears clear oval glasses, sang like a canary.
—Naaman Zhou, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 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 16 Nov. 2024.
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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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