canary
14
2.1
- noun
- /kəˈnɛri/
:
canario
- We have some very nice canaries this week.
When the air got bad, they, the Canary would stop singing.
- When the air got bad, they, the Canary would stop singing.
- There was no electricity and they walked in and there was a Canary in a cage, a cat asleep by the fire.
- By the way, your Canary died and there was not a lot of meat on that bone sucking feathers.
Examples
-
And after one week, we were a family, and soon we had a canary and two.
Fiction book (2000) -
Get a canary, get a fish.
-
So for example, a Canary can grow, move, fly and sing, right?
-
You are not a dog or a cat or a canary.
-
I wanted a parrot so badly, and I got a canary instead.
Fiction book (2001) -
Small in size, but there are dozens of cages of canaries all around.
Fiction book (2002) -
Coal miners would take a caged canary with them down into the mine shafts.
Academic text (1990) -
Vovka's grandmother owned a canary, a bizarre legacy from Maria Nikolayevna Barykova.
Fiction book (1990) -
Mrs. Edison loved birds and always kept canaries, parakeets, and parrots.
Fiction book (1990) -
My sister has a lovely canary that sings every morning.
Synonyms
39
1.6
A small bird with a short thick beak that eats seeds
17
2.3
A small bird, like a canary, that makes pleasant musical sounds
1
1.3
A small yellow songbird often kept as a pet for its singing
A small songbird often kept in a cage for its singing
A small yellow bird kept as a pet for its song
Idioms
To smile in a proud, secret way because you feel pleased with yourself
- Informal
A person who looks very pleased because they have a secret success
Compounds
1
3.0
A group of Spanish volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean near northwest Africa
A fern from the Canary Islands and Madeira with soft, hairy underground stems like a hare's foot
A tall North American tree with tulip-shaped yellow flowers and soft white wood used for cabinets
A tall grass that lives for many years and grows in wet places like riverbanks and ditches
- Specialized
A perennial grass from Australia and South Africa grown for animal feed
Surface Forms
Etymology
Canary comes from the Canary Islands, where these small yellow-green songbirds were first known in Europe; the islands' old name comes from the Latin word canis meaning 'dog', but the birds kept the island name. So a canary is a little songbird originally from those islands.