Jump To:

• black and white
  black and white

  noun

  black.
• black-and-white
  black-and-white

  adjective

  displaying only black and white tones; without color, as a picture or chart.

black and white

¹ American  

noun

1. black.

---

black-and-white ² American  

[blak-uhn-hwahyt, -wahyt] / ˈblæk ənˈʰwaɪt, -ˈwaɪt /

adjective

1. displaying only black and white tones; without color, as a picture or chart.

   a black-and-white photograph.

2. partly black and partly white; made up of separate areas or design elements of black and white.

   black-and-white shoes.

3. of, relating to, or constituting a two-valued system, as of logic or morality; absolute.

   To those who think in black-and-white terms, a person must be either entirely good or entirely bad.

---

black-and-white British  

noun

1. 1. a photograph, picture, sketch, etc, in black, white, and shades of grey rather than in colour

   2. ( as modifier )

      black-and-white film

2. the neutral tones of black, white, and intermediate shades of grey Compare colour

3. 1. in print or writing

   2. in extremes

      he always saw things in black and white

---

black and white Idioms  

1. A monochromatic picture, drawing, television image, computer monitor, or film, as opposed to one using many colors, as in Photos in black and white fade less than those taken with color film . [Late 1800s]

2. Also, black or white . Involving a very clear distinction, without any gradations. For example, He tended to view everything as a black and white issue—it was either right or wrong—whereas his partner always found gray areas . This usage is based on the association of black with evil and white with virtue, which dates back at least 2,000 years. [Early 1800s] Also see gray area .

3. in black and white . Written down or in print, and therefore official. For example, The terms of our agreement were spelled out in black and white, so there should be no question about it . This term alludes to black ink or print on white paper. Shakespeare used it in Much Ado about Nothing (5:1). [Late 1500s]

---

Etymology

Origin of black-and-white

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

black and white black-and-white

The hosts walked out in their black and white home kit, which has a blue trim, but decided to ditch it during the first hydration break at St James' Park on Saturday.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Even Sunderland fan, Eddie, whose wife Brenda supports Newcastle, said: "He's a legend isn't he? Red and white, black and white it doesn't matter."

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

His first feature, however, was a lean 70 minutes shot in black and white.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

She was last seen wearing a white shirt and black and white dirt-bike pants and riding a gray and white Kawasaki KLX 300R dirt bike, sheriff’s officials said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

The next image was a photograph, black and white and blurred with age.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

It contains a black-and-white photo of Velvet Underground musician John Cale, fashion heavyweight Marc Jacobs, and film director Martin Scorsese.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

That sort of black-and-white thinking was always going to clash with the shades of gray in Christopher Nolan’s smash-hit adaptation of “The Odyssey.”

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026

Rather than treating this as a black-and-white or all-or-nothing scenario, why not dip into your taxable brokerage account, take out a mortgage, and time your IRA withdrawals or Roth conversions.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

The restaurant grew to 190 seats, its wall of fame featuring signed black-and-white glossies from Pee-wee Herman, Elizabeth Taylor and scores of others.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

Isobel turns her attention back to Celia, and then she pulls a deck from her bag; not her black-and-white circus cards but her original Marseilles deck, worn and faded.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Related Words

• book
• copy
• edition
• engraving
• lettering
• lithograph
• magazine
• newspaper
• photograph
• stamp
• type
• writing