Sekirov Dictionary

black

/blæk/

adjective 22
noun 17
verb 3
forms 10
phrases 20

adjective22

•
of the very dark color that takes in all light and gives none back
- The items around him were black in colour.
Having one or more features (hair, fur, armour, clothes, bark, etc.) that is dark (or black).
Dark in comparison to another species with the same base name.
•
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? — 1969
(US, UK) Belonging to or descended from any of various sub-Saharan African ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin.
•
Without any cream, milk, or creamer.
- Jim drinks his coffee black, but Ellen prefers it with creamer.
•
Bad; evil; ill-omened.
- […] what a black day would that be, when the Ordinances of Jesus Christ should as it were be excommunicated, and cast out of the Church of Christ. — 1655
•
Expressing menace or discontent; threatening; sullen.
- He shot her a black look.
•
(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. — 2009
•
Illegitimate, illegal, or disgraced.
- Foodstuffs were rationed and, as in other countries in a similar situation, the black market was flourishing. — 1952
•
Of the spades or clubs suits.
- I was dealt two red queens, and he got one of the black queens.
•
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.
Without light.
•
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.
•
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. — 1936
(historical) Designated for use by those ethnic groups (as described above).
•
Said of a symbol or character that is solid, filled with color.
- Compare two Unicode symbols: ☞ (“WHITE RIGHT POINTING INDEX”); ☛ (“BLACK RIGHT POINTING INDEX”).
Of or pertaining to anarchism; anarchist.
•
Related to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany.
- After the election, the parties united in a black-yellow alliance.
•
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. — 1599
•
(Ireland, offensive) Protestant, often with the implication of being militantly pro-British or anti-Catholic. (Compare blackmouth ("Presbyterian").)
- He [Sir John Henry Biggart] was personally amused at having once been called "a black bastard". — 1985
(Ireland, informal) Overcrowded.

noun17

•
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. — 1595
A black dye or pigment.
•
(offensive) 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. […]" — 1863
•
(informal) Blackness, the condition of belonging to or being descended from one of these ethnic groups.
- black don't crack
•
The player moving the black pieces.
- Unless the arbiter decides otherwise, ranks from White to Black shall be given the German numbers. — 2022
•
The person playing with the black set of pieces.
- At this point black makes a disastrous move.
A pen, pencil, crayon, etc., made of black pigment.
•
[in the plural] 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. — 1625
The black ball.
The edge of home plate.
Something, or a part of a thing, which is black.
(UK, informal) Blackcurrant syrup or crème de cassis used for cocktails.
•
(US, slang) 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. — 2008
•
The blackened, burned-out area at the centre of a fire.
- The black is always the safest place for a firefighter. — 2024
A dark smut fungus, harmful to wheat.
(UK) A type of firecracker that is really more dark brown in colour.
(no longer used) A stain; a spot.

verb3

•
To make black; to blacken.
- Ted, you can black your face, and dye your hair, and squint, and some fine day, sooner or later, somebody'll come along and blab the whole thing. — 1911
•
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). — 1853
•
(UK) 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. — 2003

forms

blacked · blacking · blacketh · blacks · Blacks · blax · blacker · more black · blackest · most black

Phrases with black

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