being a color that lacks hue and brightness and absorbs light without reflecting any of the rays composing it.
They labeled the boxes with a black permanent marker.
characterized by absence of light; enveloped in darkness.
a black night.
soiled or stained with dirt.
That shirt was black within an hour.
a black outlook.
deliberately harmful; inexcusable.
a black lie.
boding ill; sullen or hostile; threatening: black looks.
black words;
black looks.
(of coffee or tea) without milk or cream.
I take my coffee black.
without any moral quality or goodness; evil; wicked.
His black heart has concocted yet another black deed.
indicating censure, disgrace, or liability to punishment.
a black mark on one's record.
marked by disaster or misfortune.
black areas of drought; Black Friday.
wearing black or dark clothing or armor.
the black prince.
based on the grotesque, morbid, or unpleasant aspects of life: black humor.
black comedy;
black humor.
(of a check mark, flag, etc.) done or written in black to indicate, as on a list, that which is undesirable, substandard, potentially dangerous, etc..
Pilots put a black flag next to the ten most dangerous airports.
illegal or underground.
The black economy pays no taxes.
showing a profit; not showing any losses.
the first black quarter in two years.
deliberately false or intentionally misleading.
black propaganda.
British. boycotted, as certain goods or products by a trade union.
(of steel) in the form in which it comes from the rolling mill or forge; unfinished.
the color at one extreme end of the scale of grays, opposite to white, absorbing all light incident upon it.
black clothing, especially as a sign of mourning.
He wore black at the funeral.
Chess, Checkers. the dark-colored men or pieces or squares.
black pigment.
lamp black.
Slang. black beauty.
a horse or other animal that is entirely black.
black and white,
print or writing.
I want that agreement in black and white.
a monochromatic picture done with black and white only.
a chocolate soda containing vanilla ice cream.
Slang. a highly recognizable police car, used to patrol a community.
black or white, completely either one way or another, without any intermediate state.
in the black, operating at a profit or being out of debt (opposed to in the red).
New production methods put the company in the black.
Hugo Lafayette 1886–1971, U.S. political official: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1937–71.
(Sir) James Whyte 1924–2010, English pharmacologist: Nobel Prize 1988.
Joseph 1728–99, Scottish physician and chemist.
Shirley Temple Temple, Shirley.
of the colour of jet or carbon black, having no hue due to the absorption of all or nearly all incident light Compare white
without light; completely dark
without hope or alleviation; gloomy
the future looked black
very dirty or soiled
black factory chimneys
angry or resentful
she gave him black looks
(of a play or other work) dealing with the unpleasant realities of life, esp in a pessimistic or macabre manner
black comedy
(of coffee or tea) without milk or cream
causing, resulting from, or showing great misfortune
black areas of unemployment
wicked or harmful
a black lie
( in combination )
black-hearted
causing or deserving dishonour or censure
a black crime
(of the face) purple, as from suffocation
(of goods, jobs, works, etc) being subject to boycott by trade unionists, esp in support of industrial action elsewhere
a black colour
a dye or pigment of or producing this colour
black clothing, worn esp as a sign of mourning
chess draughts
a black or dark-coloured piece or square
(usually capital) the player playing with such pieces
complete darkness
the black of the night
a black ball in snooker, etc
(in roulette and other gambling games) one of two colours on which players may place even bets, the other being red
in credit or without debt
archery a black ring on a target, between the outer and the blue, scoring three points
another word for blacken
(tr) to polish (shoes, etc) with blacking
(tr) to bruise so as to make black
he blacked her eye
(tr) (of trade unionists) to organize a boycott of (specified goods, jobs, work, etc), esp in support of industrial action elsewhere
Sir James ( Whyte ). 1924–2010, British biochemist. He discovered beta-blockers and drugs for peptic ulcers: Nobel prize for physiology or medicine 1988
Joseph . 1728–99, Scottish physician and chemist, noted for his pioneering work on carbon dioxide and heat
Black may be capitalized when used in reference to people, as a sign of respect. The case for capitalizing the initial letter ( Black ) is further supported by the fact that the names of many other ethnic groups and nationalities use initial capital letters, e.g., Hispanic. Black as an adjective referring to a person or people is unlikely to cause negative reactions. As a noun, however, it does often offend. The use of the plural noun without an article is somewhat more accepted (home ownership among Blacks ); however, the plural noun with an article is more likely to offend (political issues affecting the Blacks ), and the singular noun is especially likely to offend (The small business proprietor is a Black ). Use the adjective instead: Black homeowners, Black voters, a Black business proprietor. In the United States, there is a complex social history for words that name or describe the dark-skinned peoples of sub-Saharan Africa and their descendants. A term that was once acceptable may now be offensive, and one that was once offensive may now be acceptable. Colored, for example, first used in colonial North America, was an appropriate referential term until the 1920s, when it was supplanted by Negro. Now colored is perceived not only as old-fashioned but offensive. It survives primarily in the name of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), an organization formed when the word was not considered derogatory. Describing someone as a person of color, however, is not usually offensive. That term, an inclusive one that can refer to anyone who is not white, is frequently used by members of the Black community. Using “of color” can emphasize commonalities in nonwhite lives. However, when referring to a group of people who are all Black, it is more appropriate to be specific. Failure to explicitly reference blackness when it is exclusively appropriate, generalizing “Black” to “of color,” can be a form of erasure. Negro remained the overwhelming term of choice until the mid-1960s. That decade saw a burgeoning civil rights movement, which furthered a sense that Negro was contaminated by its long association with discrimination as well as its closeness to the disparaging and deeply offensive N-word. The emergence of the Black Power movement fostered the emergence of Black as a primary descriptive term, as in “Black pride.” By the mid-1970s Black had become common within and outside the Black community. But Negro has not entirely disappeared. It remains in the names of such organizations as the United Negro College Fund, people still refer to Negro spirituals, and some older Black people continue to identify with the term they have known since childhood. So Negro , while not offensive in established or historical contexts, is now looked upon in contemporary speech and writing as not only antiquated but highly likely to offend. During the 1980s, many Americans sought to display pride in their immigrant origins. Linguistically, this brought about a brief period of short-form hyphenated designations, like Italo-Americans and Greco-Americans. The Black community also embraced the existing term Afro-American, a label that emphasized geographical or ethnic heritage over skin color. The related label, African American, also saw an increase in use among activists in the 1970s and 1980s. African American was even more widely adopted in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s after high-profile Black leaders advocated for it, arguing, as Jesse Jackson did, that the term brought “proper historical context” and had “cultural integrity.” While African American has not completely replaced Black in common parlance, it works both as a noun and as an adjective. This shifting from term to term has not been smooth or linear, and periods of change like the late 1960s were often marked by confusion as to which term was appropriate. The 1967 groundbreaking film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, about a young interracial couple hoping that both sets of parents will accept their plans to marry, reflects the abundance of terminological choices available at the time. Various characters talk of a “colored girl,” a “colored man,” a “Negro,” and “Black people.” The N-word appears once, used disparagingly by one Black character to another. African American had not yet made it into the mix.
Talking about a Black or Blacks is considered offensive and it is better to talk about a Black person , Black people
First recorded before 900; Middle English blak, Old English blæc; cognate with Old High German blah- (used only in compounds); akin to Old Norse blakkr “black,” blek “ink”; from Germanic blakaz, past participle of blakjan “to burn,” from a root meaning “to shine, flash, burn”
see origin at black ( def. )
We all know what the color black looks like, but technically it's defined by the absence of light. Total darkness. Black is most commonly used as an adjective, but you can also use it as a noun, like when you say, "The actors wore black." Synonyms when used to describe color include inky, raven, and sable. This word can also refer to an angry feeling, as in a black mood, or something wicked, like black magic.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There are opulent chairs, upholstered in pale yellow; a black and white print of a trawler that nods to Hull's fishing heritage.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
These days, wellness products that used to be branded in spiritual and soft, earthy, non-Western ways during the Goop era are now promoted by men in tight black T-shirts talking about optimization and hard science.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026
That’s not unusual, and the acceptance rate for the school’s black and Hispanic students is typically double the citywide average.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
She would make bowties in a light Parmesan sauce with peas, ham and an indecent amount of black pepper.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
A tall kid with long black hair wearing a sheepskin-lined jean jacket, big silver belt buckle, and a black cowboy hat was looking around the grounds, obviously befuddled.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Black voters broke 71% for Talarico and 8% for Paxton, while Latinos preferred Talarico by a 66% to 20% margin.
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2026
Berkeley admitted 87 fewer Black California students, a drop of 17%.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Many years later, activist Angela Davis credited Saar, and “The Liberation of Aunt Jemima,” with starting the Black women’s movement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Darren Walker, president of Anonymous Content, filled the Paul Revere Williams–designed house with sleek furnishings and a curated collection of Black art.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
And according to many Black women in the neighborhood, he’s very handsome.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
What 250 years means: To me, it means that we’re still here, we’re living, we’re breathing… The blacks and browns, you know, us sticking together, I feel like we accomplished a lot in 250 years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Seemingly to discredit the precedent, she argues the Court is too quick to dismiss the idea that the Bruen history test should include post-Civil War Southern laws disarming blacks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
An Emerson College survey last year put overall support for the tax-credit program at 64%, including 61% of Democrats, 68% of Hispanics and 63% of blacks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
After yesterday's first session, O'Sullivan led 7-2, and stretched that advantage with a break of 62 before potting nine reds and eight blacks at the start of the 10th frame.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
This philosophy, born in the North, never gained much traction among Southern whites or blacks.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
“Liberation Day” is different only in that the humor is a little blacker, the fears of our exploitation more intense.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 21, 2022
At the same time, Mira’s suit is noticeably sleeker and blacker, less rubbery and reflective than Cheung’s, which feels like a nod to an increasingly digital, effects-reliant medium.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2022
“It’s big, and it’s blacker than coal,” Jewitt said.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 14, 2022
It is a wonderful moment, a comic ray of light that makes the darkness of Dr. Lecter’s heart and mind all the blacker.
From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2021
I came into this world looking every bit like my father, with his blue-black skin, black hair, and even blacker eyes.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
It is almost certainly the blackest black possible.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2024
Comparisons with other major tropical rivers show that the Ruki may even be the blackest large blackwater river on Earth -- it's certainly a lot darker than the famous Rio Negro in the Amazon.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2023
When winds were bearable, we sought bliss, sat, admired the aurora australis as an escape from our blackest abyss.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 19, 2023
That omission was described by Dr. Lemkin as “the blackest day” of his life.
From New York Times ● Apr. 28, 2022
There were sharks every day, mainly makos and blue sharks, but also oceanic whitetips, and once a tiger shark straight from the blackest of nightmares.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
This president’s name is no mystery to readers, but perhaps out of legal caution it always appears blacked out, as though the novel were a redacted intelligence document.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
The other divers immediately went into the water again and they found Mahdhee had blacked out.
From BBC ● May 16, 2026
The sky blacked by the smoke from flaming vehicles was visible from Saunders's suite in a luxury hotel along Puerto Vallarta's main strip.
From Barron's ● Feb. 24, 2026
“Before the regime completely blacked out the internet, and in many places, electricity, there was an electrifying sense of hope,” said Refael, a prominent voice in Los Angeles’ Persian Jewish community.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026
Sagging piles of rotted wood and fabric had rebuilt themselves into fainting couches and armchairs, and sunlight streamed through high windows once so grimy I’d thought they were blacked out.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
Over the weekend she said she continued bleeding and suffering a lot of pain, even blacking out on her way to the bathroom at night.
From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2025
The Acton Town Council told the utilities commission in January that Edison was blacking out residents when dangerous conditions “do not exist.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2025
Mr Rogers, 20, passed away after blacking out during a swim training session at Armagh's Orchard Leisure Centre in April 2017.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2025
“I think the reason that you redact records like this, records that are just silly to redact in the first place, it’s about normalizing the blacking out of records,” he said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 8, 2023
As he took up a brush and a tin of blacking, he said, “So the future’s looking bright for Molly.”
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
