canary
- 01 A2 Elementary
n.a small, usually yellow bird that is known for its singing.
n.a small finch of the genus Serinus, native to the Canary Islands and widely kept as a pet for its song.
Simple“The canary sang loudly in its cage by the window every morning.”
In context“Domesticated canaries have been bred for centuries, resulting in a wide variety of colors and distinct singing styles preferred by enthusiasts.”
Synonymssongbirdfinch - 02 C1 Advanced
n.a person who tells the police or authorities about a crime or secret.
n.an informer or snitch who provides information to authorities, typically about illegal activities.
Simple“The gang was worried that one of their members might turn into a canary.”
In context“The prosecution's case relied heavily on a canary who had been part of the inner circle for over a decade.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a person or thing used to test if something is dangerous before others try it.
n.a test subject or indicator used to detect danger or failure at an early stage, referencing the historical use of birds in coal mines.
Simple“Small businesses are often the canary in the coal mine for a bad economy.”
In context“Environmental scientists view the decline of these specific amphibians as a canary in the coal mine for the health of the entire ecosystem.”
Synonymsindicatortest subject - 04 C1 Advanced
n.a new version of software that is tested by a small group of people first.
n.a software deployment strategy where a change is rolled out to a small subset of users to verify stability before a full release.
Simple“We are running a canary release to make sure the new feature doesn't crash.”
In context“The engineering team monitored the canary deployment for latency spikes before proceeding with the global rollout of the update.”
Synonymspilotbeta test - 05 B1 Intermediate
n.a bright, light yellow color.
n.a light, slightly greenish-yellow color resembling the plumage of a canary.
Simple“She wore a beautiful canary dress to the summer wedding.”
In context“The artist used a touch of canary yellow to highlight the sunlit portions of the meadow in the landscape painting.”
- 06 B1 Intermediate
adj.having a bright yellow color.
adj.of a light, bright yellow color.
Simple“The walls were painted a bright canary shade that made the room feel warm.”
In context“He drove a canary sports car that was impossible to miss in the heavy city traffic.”
Synonyms - 07 C2 Proficiency
v.to tell secrets or report someone to the authorities.
v.to act as an informer; to betray secrets regarding illegal activities to the police.
Simple“He decided to canary on his partners to get a shorter prison sentence.”
In context“Under intense pressure from investigators, the suspect finally began to canary about the organization's offshore accounts.”