Black

adjective blacker · more black · blackest · most black · blacke · Black

1. Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless. The items around him were black in colour.
2. Without light.
3. capitalized, sometimes Belonging to or descended from any of various (African, Aboriginal, etc.) ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin. (See usage notes below.) Somebody tell me, what can I do / Something is holding me back / Is it because I'm black?
4. South Africa, UK, US, capitalized, sometimes Belonging to or descended from any of various sub-Saharan African ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin.
5. historical Designated for use by those ethnic groups (as described above). black drinking fountain; black hospital
6. Of the spades or clubs suits. I was dealt two red queens, and he got one of the black queens.
7. Bad; evil; ill-omened. black magic
8. Expressing menace or discontent; threatening; sullen. He shot her a black look.
9. Illegitimate, illegal, or disgraced. Foodstuffs were rationed and, as in other countries in a similar situation, the black market was flourishing.
10. Foul; dirty, soiled. Then trip him, that his heeles may kicke at Heauen, / And that his Soule may be as damn'd aud blacke / As Hell, whereto it goes.
11. Ireland, informal Overcrowded.
12. Without any cream, milk, or creamer. Jim drinks his coffee black, but Ellen prefers it with creamer.
13. Of or relating to the playing pieces of a board game deemed to belong to the "black" set (in chess, the set used by the player who moves second) (often regardless of the pieces' actual colour). The black pieces in this chess set are made of dark blue glass.
14. Said of a symbol or character that is solid, filled with color. Compare two Unicode symbols: ☞ (“WHITE RIGHT POINTING INDEX”); ☛ (“BLACK RIGHT POINTING INDEX”).
15. Of or pertaining to anarchism; anarchist.
16. German Related to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. After the election, the parties united in a black-yellow alliance.
17. Clandestine; relating to a political, military, or espionage operation or site, the existence or details of which is withheld from the general public. 5 percent of the Defense Department funding will go to black projects.
18. Occult; relating to something (such as mystical or magical knowledge) which is unknown to or kept secret from the general public. Pope Joan, who once occupied the throne of the Vatican, was reputed to be the blackest sorcerer of them all.
19. Ireland, derogatory Protestant, often with the implication of being militantly pro-British or anti-Catholic. (Compare blackmouth ("Presbyterian").) the Black North
20. Having one or more features (hair, fur, armour, clothes, bark, etc.) that is dark (or black). the black knight; black bile
21. especially Dark in comparison to another species with the same base name. black birch; black locust; black rhino
22. Singapore, Singlish Sullen and solemn; bad-tempered and unhappy. They gave up trying to talk to me. Ever since I gave them that big scolding. But every time they see me, all face black black.

Similar: atramental, atramentous, black, ebon, ebony, inkish, inklike, inky, jetty, negro, nigrous, pitchy

noun blacks · blacke · Black · blk · blak

1. countable, uncountable The colour/color perceived in the absence of light, but also when no light is reflected, but rather absorbed. Black is the badge of hell, / The hue of dungeons, and the suit of night.
2. countable, uncountable A black dye or pigment.
3. countable A pen, pencil, crayon, etc., made of black pigment.
4. countable, in plural, uncountable Black cloth hung up at funerals. Groans, and convulsions, and a discolored face, and friends weeping, and blacks, and obsequies, and the like, show death terrible.
5. capitalized, countable, offensive, often, sometimes A member or descendant of any of various (African, Aboriginal, etc) ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin. "How! They surely cannot pretend that the black is an Englishman?" "There are all kinds of Englishmen, black and white, when seamen grow scarce. […]"
6. informal, uncountable Blackness, the condition of belonging to or being descended from one of these ethnic groups. black don't crack
7. countable The black ball.
8. countable The edge of home plate.
9. UK, countable A type of firecracker that is really more dark brown in colour.
10. UK, informal, uncountable Blackcurrant syrup or crème de cassis used for cocktails. Pernod and black; snakebite and black; cider and black
11. countable The person playing with the black set of pieces. At this point black makes a disastrous move.
12. countable Something, or a part of a thing, which is black. the black or sight of the eye
13. countable, obsolete A stain; a spot. defiling her white lawn of chastity with ugly blacks of lust
14. countable, uncountable A dark smut fungus, harmful to wheat.
15. US, countable, slang, uncountable Marijuana. He pulled on the black, the tip of the filter hot and malleable between his lips, and felt a cool tingling coat the simmer in his chest and begin to eat away at it in small bites.
16. countable, uncountable The blackened, burned-out area at the centre of a fire. The black is always the safest place for a firefighter.

verb blacks · blacking · blacked · blacke · Black

1. transitive To make black; to blacken. "I don't want to fight; but you are a mean, dirty blackguard, or you wouldn't have treated a girl like that," replied Tommy, standing as stiff as a stake before the bully. "Say that again, and I'll black your eye for you."
2. transitive To apply blacking to (something). […] he must catch, curry, and saddle his own horse; he must black his own brogans (for he will not be able to buy boots).
3. UK, transitive To boycott, usually as part of an industrial dispute. The plants were blacked by the Transport and General Workers' Union and a consumer boycott was organised; both activities contributed to what the union saw as a victory.

proper noun Blacks

1. countable, uncountable A surname transferred from the nickname.
2. countable, uncountable A town in Geneva County, Alabama.
3. countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Edwards County, Illinois.
4. countable, uncountable A township in Posey County, Indiana; from the surname.
5. countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Reynolds County, Missouri.
6. countable, uncountable A township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania; from the surname.
7. countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Mercer County and Wyoming County, West Virginia.

adjective

1. not comparable Alternative letter-case form of black (“of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin”).black It contained an article written by Lacy Banko summarizing the work of Dr. Herbert Hendin, who had done a comparative study on suicide among Black people in the major American cities. Dr. Hendin found that the suicide rate among Black men between the ages of nineteen and thirty-five had doubled in th

noun Blacks

1. Alternative letter-case form of black (“person having dark pigmentation of the skin”).black By 2016, however, a divide that started appearing in the preceding few years came into full relief—that year, 29% of nonwhite liberals (28% of nonwhite Democrats) and 38% of Black liberals (34% of Black Democrats), disagreed that “Blacks should work their way up without special favors.”
2. The player moving the black pieces. Unless the arbiter decides otherwise, ranks from White to Black shall be given the German numbers.