canary seed

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noun

birdseed.

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Origin of canary seed

First recorded in 1590–1600

Words nearby canary seed

canary, canarybird flower, canary creeper, canary grass, Canary Islands, canary seed, canary yellow, canasta, canaster, Canaveral, Canberra

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use canary seed in a sentence

“This is not a judgment of guilt, nor is it a suspension of any other canonical penalty,” Canary wrote.
Chicago Priests Raped and Pillaged for 50 Years|Barbie Latza Nadeau|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The aforementioned stories may very well be legitimate, but let's consider them a sort of canary in the coal mine.
Brace Yourself: October Election Surprises Surely on the Way|Matt Lewis|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Famously, Ted Turner in 1997 founded the United Nations Foundation with a generous $1 billion in seed money.
How Does Zuckerberg’s Ebola Pledge Measure Up To Other Bigwig Donations?|Nina Strochlic|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He said he hoped their “shed blood [would] act as a seed of hope in order to build authentic brotherhood among peoples.”
Catholic Nuns Aiding Africa's Battered Wives Are Raped and Murdered|Barbie Latza Nadeau|September 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

When you were setting out to work on The Giver, what planted the seed for this dark, utopian society?
A Trailblazer in YA Dystopian Fiction: An Interview With 'The Giver' Author Lois Lowry|Marianne Hayes|August 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The seed of discontent was again germinating under the duplicity of the Spanish lay and clerical authorities.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
The color (p. 027) of the seed also varies according to the varieties of the plant.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
The ne'er-do-well blew, like seed before the wind, to distant places, but mankind at large stayed at home.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
When the man turned bad on his hands, Jahweh was angry, and cursed him and his seed for thousands of years.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one little measure, and thirty bushels of seed shall yield three bushels.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various

British Dictionary definitions for canary seed

canary seed

noun

another name for birdseed

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