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Black
1[ blak ]
adjective
- relating or belonging to any of the various human populations characterized by dark skin pigmentation, specifically the dark-skinned peoples of Africa, Oceania, and Australia.
- relating to or noting the descendants of these populations, without regard for the lightness or darkness of skin tone.
- African American:
The exhibit featured the work of young Black artists from New York.
noun
- Often Offensive. (Use as a noun in reference to a person, e.g., “a Black,” is often considered offensive.)
- a member of any of various dark-skinned peoples, especially those of Africa, Oceania, and Australia.
Black
2[ blak ]
noun
- Hu·go La·fa·yette [hyoo, -goh laf-ey-, et], 1886–1971, U.S. political official: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1937–71.
- (Sir) James Whyte [sur , jeymz, hwahyt, wahyt], 1924–2010, English pharmacologist: Nobel Prize 1988.
- Jo·seph [joh, -z, uh, f, -s, uh, f], 1728–99, Scottish physician and chemist.
- Shir·ley Tem·ple [shur, -lee , tem, -p, uh, l], Temple, Shirley.
black
3[ blak ]
adjective
- 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.
Synonyms: ebony, sable, inky, sooty, dusky, dark
Antonyms: white
- characterized by absence of light; enveloped in darkness:
a black night.
- soiled or stained with dirt:
That shirt was black within an hour.
Antonyms: clean
a black outlook.
Synonyms: funereal, mournful, doleful, somber, depressing, sad
- deliberately harmful; inexcusable:
a black lie.
- boding ill; sullen or hostile; threatening: black looks.
black words;
black looks.
Synonyms: calamitous, disastrous
- (of coffee or tea) without milk or cream:
I take my coffee black.
His black heart has concocted yet another black deed.
Synonyms: villainous, traitorous, treacherous, nefarious, horrible, atrocious, monstrous, infernal, devilish, fiendish, inhuman, sinful
- 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.
noun
- the color at one extreme end of the scale of grays, opposite to white, absorbing all light incident upon it. Compare white ( def 20 ).
- 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.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
- to become black; take on a black color; blacken.
adverb
- (of coffee or tea) served without milk or cream.
verb phrase
- to lose consciousness:
He blacked out at the sight of blood.
- to erase, obliterate, or suppress:
News reports were blacked out.
- to forget everything relating to a particular event, person, etc.:
When it came to his war experiences he blacked out completely.
- Theater. to extinguish all of the stage lights.
- to make or become inoperable:
to black out the radio broadcasts from the U.S.
- Military. to obscure by concealing all light in defense against air raids.
- Radio and Television. to impose a broadcast blackout on (an area).
- to withdraw or cancel (a special fare, sale, discount, etc.) for a designated period:
The special airfare discount will be blacked out by the airlines over the holiday weekend.
Black
1/ blæk /
noun
- BlackSir James (Whyte)19242010MBritishSCIENCE: chemist Sir James ( Whyte ). 1924–2010, British biochemist. He discovered beta-blockers and drugs for peptic ulcers: Nobel prize for physiology or medicine 1988
- BlackJoseph17281799MScottishMEDICINE: physicianSCIENCE: chemist Joseph . 1728–99, Scottish physician and chemist, noted for his pioneering work on carbon dioxide and heat
Black
2/ blæk /
noun
- a member of a human population having dark pigmentation of the skin
adjective
- of or relating to a Black person or Black people
a Black neighbourhood
black
3/ blæk /
adjective
- 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
noun
- 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 the blackin credit or without debt
- archery a black ring on a target, between the outer and the blue, scoring three points
verb
- 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
Black
1- British chemist who in 1756 discovered carbon dioxide, which he called “fixed air.” In addition to further studies of carbon dioxide, Black formulated the concepts of latent heat and heat capacity.
Black
2/ blăk /
- British pharmacologist who discovered the first beta-blocker, which led to the development of safer and more effective drugs to treat high blood pressure and heart disease. Black also developed a blocker for gastric acid production that revolutionized the treatment of stomach ulcers. He shared with Gertrude Elion and George Hitchings the 1988 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine.
Usage
Sensitive Note
Derived Forms
- ˈblackish, adjective
- ˈblackishly, adverb
- ˈblackness, noun
- ˈblackly, adverb
Other Words From
- black·ish adjective
- black·ish·ly adverb
- black·ish·ness noun
- non·black adjective noun
- un·blacked adjective
- well-blacked adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of Black1
Origin of Black2
Word History and Origins
Origin of Black1
Idioms and Phrases
- 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 ( in the red ):
New production methods put the company in the black.
More idioms and phrases containing Black
- dirty (black) look
- in the red (black)
- look black
- paint black
- pot calling the kettle black
Example Sentences
She previously said that during her time in Congress, Republicans frequently targeted members of the Black Caucus.
The president-elect’s only Black Cabinet nominee served in Trump’s first administration on the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council.
While there remains precious few Black rock and metal bands, Ice-T says the initial goal with Body Count was “to find an audience to play for so Ernie could play his guitar.”
The researchers found that Black Americans were more likely than white Americans to embrace aspects of the myth.
Moments after the verdict, Marvel swiftly fired the “Last Black Man in San Francisco” breakout — another major blow to his professional career.
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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.
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