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• 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.

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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.

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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

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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]

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Etymology

Origin of black-and-white

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

black and white black-and-white

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

Officials said that there was some pushback from Italy over putting the pledge in black and white, but that it was eventually approved Friday by ambassadors at NATO.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

A black and white picture of Jota celebrating a goal for his country has been displayed on big screens as the Portuguese national anthem has rung out before matches.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

In Japan, a snack maker switched to black and white packaging for some products in response to oil-related ink shortages.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026

Amazingly, the black and white speeds down the street.

From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

“I feel like that conversation is very subtle and there’s times when you need to just be speaking black-and-white terms and say, ‘I’m gay’ as opposed to saying, ‘Sexuality’s very complicated.’

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 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 exhibition also includes an old photograph of the coastal city of Tyre, a black-and-white video of Nabatieh, and notebooks in which visitors wrote down their memories of the south.

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026

I’m wearing my favorite flip-flops, the black-and-white pair I got for my birthday, the same ones Malik has.

From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner

Related Words

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