black-eyed Susan

Save This Word!

noun

any of a number of composite plants having daisylike flowers with a dark center disk and usually yellow ray flowers, especially Rudbeckia hirta: the state flower of Maryland.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of black-eyed Susan

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95

Words nearby black-eyed Susan

blackened, Black English, Blackett, black eye, black-eyed pea, black-eyed Susan, blackface, blackfellow, blackfellow's bread, Black Ferns, black-figure

How to use black-eyed Susan in a sentence

The world that Black Dynamite lives in is not the most PC place to be in.
‘Black Dynamite’ Presents Police Brutality: The Musical|Stereo Williams|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Music is a huge part of the tone of Black Dynamite overall—going back to the original 2009 movie on which the series is based.
‘Black Dynamite’ Presents Police Brutality: The Musical|Stereo Williams|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
How far has Congress really evolved on race when in 50 years it has gone from one black senator to two?
The Unbearable Whiteness of Congress|Dean Obeidallah|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Even the arguably more democratic House is only at 10 percent black members.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Congress|Dean Obeidallah|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

But in the case of black women, another study found no lack of interest.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Congress|Dean Obeidallah|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Suddenly, however, he became aware of a small black spot far ahead in the very middle of the unencumbered track.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
The lady in black was reading her morning devotions on the porch of a neighboring bathhouse.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
The lady in black, creeping behind them, looked a trifle paler and more jaded than usual.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
A little black girl sat on the floor, and with her hands worked the treadle of the machine.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Under the long lashes of low lids a pair of eyes black and insolent set off the haughty lines of her scarlet lips.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for black-eyed Susan

black-eyed Susan

noun

any of several North American plants of the genus Rudbeckia, esp R. hirta, having flower heads of orange-yellow rays and brown-black centres: family Asteraceae (composites)

a climbing plant, Thunbergia alata, native to tropical Africa but widely naturalized elsewhere, having yellow flowers with purple centres, grown as a greenhouse annual

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012