black flag
Americannoun
-
a pirate flag, usually of black cloth with a white skull and crossbones on it; Jolly Roger.
-
a flag having two yellow and two black squares, signifying the letter L in the International Code of Signals: formerly so called when used by itself to indicate the presence of cholera on board a vessel.
-
a signal given to an automobile racing driver to stop, usually because the car may have a dangerous problem that requires inspection.
noun
Etymology
Origin of black flag
First recorded in 1585–95
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An AFP journalist at the northern Islam Qala border crossing saw the Iranian flag completely lowered, and a black flag raised.
From Barron's • Mar. 1, 2026
"Their hearts must have sunk seeing this black flag against the whiteness of Antarctica," said David Waterhouse, curator of the polar museum at SPRI.
From BBC • Sep. 2, 2025
Chapman scrambled to the officials’ stand, pleading with Chief Steward Harlan Fengler to put out a black flag for Jones, calling him to the pits.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2024
But the black flag isn’t a call for war, and neither the flag’s text nor the shrine’s statement about the banner references the coming of the Mahdi or the end of time.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 27, 2023
There’s a certain black flag flown from a certain window.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
