# canary deployment

CEFR C1 · Compound

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/canary-deployment
Updated: 2026-07-22

## Definition

a way of testing new software by showing it to a small group of users first. If there are no problems, the company gives the update to everyone else.

For teachers: a software release strategy where a new version is rolled out to a small subset of users before being deployed to the entire infrastructure. This allows for real-world monitoring and risk mitigation before a full-scale launch.

## Examples

- The team used a canary deployment to test the new login page.
- By using a canary deployment, the engineers caught a critical bug that only affected five percent of their users.
- The automated pipeline halted the canary deployment immediately after detecting a spike in latency, preventing the faulty code from reaching the broader production environment.

## Usage notes

- Uncountable when referring to the strategy; countable when referring to a specific instance of the process.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.