How do you pronounce canary?

The recorded pronunciation is /kəˈneːɹi/.

canary

/kəˈneːɹi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.44 in modern English

Syllables: ca-nary
IPA: /kəˈneːɹi/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A small, usually yellow, finch (genus Serinus), a songbird native to the Canary Islands.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Any of various small birds of different countries, most of which are largely yellow in colour.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A female singer, soprano, a coloratura singer.

Countable; Informal; Uncountable

noun

An informer or snitch; a squealer.

Countable; Slang; Uncountable

noun

A light, slightly greenish, yellow colour.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A (usually yellow) capsule of the short-acting barbiturate pentobarbital/pentobarbitone (nembutal).

Countable; Slang; Uncountable

noun

A yellow sticker applied by the police to a vehicle to indicate it is unroadworthy.

Australian usage; Countable; Informal; Uncountable

noun

Any test subject, especially an inadvertent or unwilling one. (From the mining practice of using canaries to detect dangerous gases.)

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"The tendency in these types of situations (as far as I can see) is that because I don't think the act itself is illegal, the police will go through your vehicle systematically loking^([sic]) for anything wrong with it, to slap a canary on it (that's slang for an unroadworthy sticker) or present you with some other fine."
"Yes, if the exhaust is to noisey^([sic]) they can slap a yellow canary on it, but the[n] who cares you got rid of it."
"You don't have to carry a spare wheel for a car to be roadworthy, and if you *do* carry one, it doesn't have to be in a roadworthy condition *unless* you fit it [to] the car and drive on it. / If it's not and you get pinched, expect a canary..."
"Ile to my honeſt knight ſir Iohn Falſtaffe, / And drinke Canary with him."
"And though the annals of the period do not show us that there was less ale drawn, or less canary called for; men got dry with the heat of polemical discussion, and drunk with a text, not the fag end of a ballad, in their mouths; and people made a sort of morality of straight hair, long faces, and sad-coloured garments."
"Or maybe you'd accept iv a couple o' bottles of claret or canaries?"

Etymology

From French canarie, from Spanish canario, from the Latin Canariae insulae (“Canary Islands”) (Spanish Islas Canarias); from the largest island Insula Canaria (“Dog Island" or "Canine Island”), named for its dogs, from canārius (“canine”), from canis (“dog”).

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: canarie, canario, Canariae insulae

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /kəˈneːɹi/
British English: /kəˈnɛəɹi/

Usage

Inflected Forms

canaries (plural) more canary (comparative) most canary (superlative) canaries (present, singular) canarying (participle, present) canaried (participle, past) canaried (past)

Derived Forms

canarylike canarypox canarywood

Phrases

Abyssinian grosbeak canary Atlantic canary black-faced canary black-headed canary black-throated canary brimstone canary bully canary bush canary

Frequently Paired Words

serin yellowhead Canary Islands Canary Wharf American Bermudan European Verde

Synonyms

informant rat out canary-yellow canary bird canary yellow fink snitch snitcher stoolpigeon stool pigeon stoolie sneak

Rhymes With

very mary harry marry gary scary larry jerry vary terry perry cherry

canary

Meaning

Example Sentences

Etymology

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How to pronounce canary