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
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
While the reports do give more clarity than a warrant canary, the traditional canary page has been an industry standard that many people recognize immediately.
—
PC Magazine, 20 May 2025
While in prison, Stroud began raising canaries and conducted research on birds, later publishing respected books on bird diseases.
—Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 5 May 2025
Last September, a team of researchers from SIO, La Jolla’s J. Craig Venter Institute and other organizations published a study on predicting harmful algae blooms that contain high levels of domoic acid by tracking a single gene that serves like a canary in a coal mine — an early detector of danger.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2025
But Sysco’s revised forecast could be the canary in the kitchen.
—Catherine Baab, Quartz, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for canary
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PC Magazine, 20 May 2025
While in prison, Stroud began raising canaries and conducted research on birds, later publishing respected books on bird diseases.
—Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 5 May 2025
Last September, a team of researchers from SIO, La Jolla’s J. Craig Venter Institute and other organizations published a study on predicting harmful algae blooms that contain high levels of domoic acid by tracking a single gene that serves like a canary in a coal mine — an early detector of danger.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2025
But Sysco’s revised forecast could be the canary in the kitchen.
—Catherine Baab, Quartz, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for canary
Cite this Entry
“Canary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canary. Accessed 29 May. 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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