canaries
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pluralof canary.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
canarynounany of several Old World finches of the genus Serinus, especially S. canaria common canary, native to the Canary Islands and often kept as a pet, in the wild being greenish with brown streaks above and yellow below and in domesticated varieties usually bright yellow or pale yellow.
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.
Or were they particularly fragile canaries in an epidemiological coal mine?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
Doji candles in January and May 2018 served as canaries in the coal mine, guiding investors to anticipate a large drawdown.
From Barron's ● Apr. 8, 2026
When it comes to signs of economic disruption, logistics companies are the canaries in the coal mine.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2025
Songbirds like canaries are in high demand in the global trafficking trade due to popular singing competitions, the charity said.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2025
Tfa Alicia would take the canaries from their cage and let the children feed them seeds or grains of rice they’d saved from their lunch.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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