as in informant
a person who provides information about another's wrongdoing
a canary who was singing and giving up the names of some of the city's most notorious drug lords
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of canary
In short, the Amazon is the planet’s canary in the coal mine—its health is directly tied to its survival.
—
Michael Sheldrick, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2025
And yet the remix, featuring TikTok star Addison Rae, was the real canary in a coal mine for the whole Brat movement.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2024
After the woman delivered a healthy baby boy, her symptoms led to a cancer diagnosis, and doctors theorized that the NIPT had been the canary in the coal mine: Her tumors were shedding abnormal DNA into the bloodstream, which skewed the prenatal test results.
—Byjennifer Couzin-Frankel, science.org, 4 Dec. 2024
Cats, however, may turn out to be the canaries in the coalmines — pardon the mixed metaphor.
—Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 24 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for canary
Michael Sheldrick, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2025
And yet the remix, featuring TikTok star Addison Rae, was the real canary in a coal mine for the whole Brat movement.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2024
After the woman delivered a healthy baby boy, her symptoms led to a cancer diagnosis, and doctors theorized that the NIPT had been the canary in the coal mine: Her tumors were shedding abnormal DNA into the bloodstream, which skewed the prenatal test results.
—Byjennifer Couzin-Frankel, science.org, 4 Dec. 2024
Cats, however, may turn out to be the canaries in the coalmines — pardon the mixed metaphor.
—Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 24 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for canary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for canary
Noun
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The judge's bond denial, which was upheld by an immigration appeals board, mentioned information from an informant who the government deemed to be credible.—
Camilo Montoya-Galvez,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2025
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That claim was based on an informant’s statements in 2019.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The Ukrainian soldiers began to see Russian civilians as a hindrance — or worse, as potential informers who could give away their positions.—
Ekaterina Bodyagina Nanna Heitmann,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2025
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The arrests were part of wide-ranging Establishment attacks on the new generation of pop stars in Britain at the time, done through connivance with informers and a hostile conservative media.—
Bill Wyman,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Boxes of mice and rats which investigators believe to be food for the snakes were also found in the residence.—
Natalie Demaree,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2025
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Don’t Miss: The nearby Volcanic Tablelands, named for a cataclysmic volcanic eruption 750,000 years ago, draws rock climbers for its fantastic bouldering and desert rats for the austere landscape and petroglyph sites.—
Jenna Blough,
Outside Online,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Canary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canary. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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