Dictionary
black
Pronunciation: (blak), [key]
—adj., -er, -est,
—n., v., adv.
—
adj.
1. lacking hue and brightness; absorbing light without reflecting any of the rays composing it.
2. characterized by absence of light; enveloped in darkness:
a black night.
3. (sometimes cap.)
a. pertaining or belonging to any of the various populations characterized by dark skin pigmentation, specifically the dark-skinned peoples of Africa, Oceania, and Australia.
b. African-American.
4. soiled or stained with dirt:
That shirt was black within an hour.
5. gloomy; pessimistic; dismal:
a black outlook.
6. deliberately; harmful; inexcusable:
a black lie.
7. boding ill; sullen or hostile; threatening:
black words; black looks.
8. (of coffee or tea) without milk or cream.
9. without any moral quality or goodness; evil; wicked:
His black heart has concocted yet another black deed.
10. indicating censure, disgrace, or liability to punishment:
a black mark on one's record.
11. marked by disaster or misfortune:
black areas of drought; Black Friday.
12. wearing black or dark clothing or armor:
the black prince.
13. based on the grotesque, morbid, or unpleasant aspects of life:
black comedy; black humor.
14. (of a check mark, flag, etc.) done or written in black to indicate, as on a list, that which is undesirable, sub-standard, potentially dangerous, etc.:
Pilots put a black flag next to the ten most dangerous airports.
15. illegal or underground:
The black economy pays no taxes.
16. showing a profit; not showing any losses:
the first black quarter in two years.
17. deliberately false or intentionally misleading:
black propaganda.
18. Brit.boycotted, as certain goods or products by a trade union.
19. (of steel) in the form in which it comes from the rolling mill or forge; unfinished.
20. black or white, completely either one way or another, without any intermediate state.
—
n.
1. the color at one extreme end of the scale of grays, opposite to white, absorbing all light incident upon it. Cf.
white (def. 20).
2. (sometimes cap.)
a. a member of any of various dark-skinned peoples, esp. those of Africa, Oceania, and Australia.
b. African-American.
3. black clothing, esp. as a sign of mourning:
He wore black at the funeral.
4. Chess, Checkers.the dark-colored men or pieces or squares.
5. black pigment:
lamp black.
6. Slang.See
black beauty.
7. a horse or other animal that is entirely black.
8. black and white,
a. print or writing:
I want that agreement in black and white.
b. a monochromatic picture done with black and white only.
c. a chocolate soda containing vanilla ice cream.
9. in the black, operating at a profit or being out of debt (opposed to
in the red):
New production methods put the company in the black.
—
v.t.
1. to make black; put black on; blacken.
2. Brit.to boycott or ban.
3. to polish (shoes, boots, etc.) with blacking.
—
v.i.
1. to become black; take on a black color; blacken.
2. black out,
a. to lose consciousness:
He blacked out at the sight of blood.
b. to erase, obliterate, or suppress:
News reports were blacked out.
c. to forget everything relating to a particular event, person, etc.:
When it came to his war experiences he blacked out completely.
d. Theat.to extinguish all of the stage lights.
e. to make or become inoperable:
to black out the radio broadcasts from the U.S.
f. Mil.to obscure by concealing all light in defense against air raids.
g. Radio and Television.to impose a broadcast blackout on (an area).
h. to withdraw or cancel (a special fare, sale, discount, etc.) for a designated period:
The special air fare discount will be blacked out by the airlines over the holiday weekend.
—
adv.
(of coffee or tea) served without milk or cream.
Black
Pronunciation: (blak), [key]—
n.
1. Hugo Lafayette, 1886–1971, U.S. political official: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1937–71.
2. Joseph, 1728–99, Scottish physician and chemist.
3. Shirley Temple. See
Temple, Shirley. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
