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# canary

noun (a canary, canaries); adjective canary yellow

«canary» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A small yellow songbird often kept as a pet. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canary/#m1)
2. A bright yellow colour (canary yellow). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canary/#m2)
3. Something that gives an early warning of danger (a canary in a coal mine). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canary/#m3)

### In the lessons

In science and pets: canaries sing and come from the Canary Islands. In history and safety: miners took canaries underground; if the bird got sick, the air was dangerous, so they left. Phrase: the canary in the coal mine = an early warning sign.

### Examples

- Our canary sings every morning. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canary/#x1)
- Canaries need clean water and seeds. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canary/#x2)
- She wore a canary yellow raincoat. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canary/#x3)
- Miners used canaries to detect bad gas. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canary/#x4)
- Falling bee numbers are a canary in the coal mine for nature. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canary/#x5)
- The cat stared at the canary in its cage. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canary/#x6)

### Note

Plural: canaries (y to ies). The Canary Islands were named after dogs (Latin «canis»), not the birds; the birds were named after the islands.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «canary» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/canary/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«canary» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/canary.html) on Mova free.