black-and-white

1 of 3

adjective

ˌbla-kən-ˈ(h)wīt 

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)

: squad car

black and white

3 of 3

noun (2)

1

: writing, print

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

Beverly Hills police officer Jay Broyles, then a 20-year veteran, patrolled the neighborhood in a black-and-white cruiser with his longtime K-9 partner Boss, a German shepherd. —Scott Huver, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Feb. 2025

But the black-and-white film about two Black couples, played by the same actors, living in Chicago during two different time periods, didn’t entice distributors. —Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 28 Feb. 2025

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

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

Rhymes for black-and-white

• acolyte
• aconite
• allanite
• alunite
• amberlite
• ammonite
• amorite
• amphitrite
• analyte
• anchorite
• andesite
• anhydrite