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black

BLAK/blæk/

Noun pluralblacks

37 meanings of black

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  1. 1
    having that coloradjective
    Of the very darkest color, like coal or soot, absorbing nearly all light; used of objects, hair, fur, clothing, and darker kinds of plants and animals (black poplar, black bear).

    The limousine's black paint gleamed under the streetlights.

    Crows are black from beak to tail.

    Similarjet, ebony, inky, pitch-black

    Oppositewhite

  2. 2
    racial groupadjective
    Belonging to or descended from peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, who typically have dark skin; in some countries also used of other dark-skinned peoples such as Aboriginal Australians. Often capitalized.

    The museum's new wing documents black history in the American South.

    Britain's black communities trace their roots largely to West Africa and the Caribbean.

    UsageBest before a noun: Black people, Black history, rather than as a bare noun (a black).

    Note

    In the US, the UK and South Africa the word often narrows. There it usually means sub-Saharan African descent, though broader political or legal uses occur in the UK and South Africa.

  3. 3
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The color perceived in the absence of light, or when light is absorbed rather than reflected.

    The designer used black to make the gold lettering stand out.

    In many Western cultures, mourners traditionally wear black.

    UsageFor clothing, say dressed in black or wear black, without an article before black.

    Similarblackness

    Oppositewhiteness

    Note

    Shakespeare's King of Navarre already loads it with gloom, calling black "the badge of hell," the weight behind the "evil" meaning.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The King of Navarre in Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost calls black 'the badge of hell'. folger.edu
  4. 4
    nounoffensivecountable
    A member or descendant of any of various dark-skinned ethnic groups, such as African or Aboriginal peoples; as a bare noun, now widely considered offensive.

    In the 1950s letter, the town's mayor complained that 'a black' had been served at the lunch counter, wording that shocks readers today.

    The pamphlet demanded equal wages for blacks and whites alike.

    UsageUse the adjective with a noun: Black people, a Black woman.

    Note

    Cooper's Miles Wallingford uses "the black" as a label for a sailor, and Burroughs's The Return of Tarzan (1913) uses the word the same way. That history is why it often gives offense.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • James Fenimore Cooper's Miles Wallingford uses 'the black' to refer to a sailor, Neb. gutenberg.org
    • Edgar Rice Burroughs's The Return of Tarzan similarly uses 'black' as a noun referring to a person. gutenberg.org
    • The first book edition appeared in 1915. The story was serialized in New Story Magazine in 1913. gutenberg.net.au
  5. 5
    illicitadjective
    Illegitimate, illegal, or disgraced; operating outside lawful or official channels.

    Smugglers moved the goods through a black economy that thrived under sanctions.

    During the war, families paid high prices for extra sugar and butter on the black market.

    UsageMainly in set phrases: black market, black economy, bought on the black market.

    Similarillicit, illegal, underground

    Oppositelegal, legitimate

    Note

    Its home is the black market, the trade that flourishes outside the rules when goods are scarce. The Contemporary Review in 1952 ties it to rationing. Applied to a reputation, it means disgraced rather than criminal.

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The Contemporary Review linked the black market with rationing in 1952. en.wiktionary.org
  6. 6
    no lightadjective
    Entirely without light; completely dark.

    The cave was utterly black beyond the reach of our flashlights.

    A black, starless sky hung over the desert.

    Similardark, gloomy, murky, dusky

    Oppositebright, lit, illuminated

  7. 7
    grim humoradjective
    Of comedy or humor: treating death and other dark, unsettling, or morbid matters as material for laughs.

    His war memoir is full of black humor about the men who never came home.

    Critics called the play a pitch-black comedy, and the audience laughed at every murder.

    UsageMainly in black humor and black comedy; dark humor means the same.

    Similardark, morbid

  8. 8
    nouncountable
    An object that is black, or the part or area of something that is black.

    Once the pencils were done, the inker filled in all the blacks.

    The electrician tied the black to the switch and capped the white wire.

    Oppositewhite

    Note

    The noun once had a precise anatomical use. Kenelm Digby in 1644 writes of "the black or sight of the eye," meaning the pupil. More generally it picks out the dark part of anything, such as the blacks of a drawing or print set against its whites and grays.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

More uses

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Origin

From Middle English blak, from Old English blæc ("black, dark," also "ink"), from Proto-Germanic *blakaz ("burnt"), possibly from a Proto-Indo-European root *bʰleg- ("to burn, shine"). Compare Latin flagrāre ("to burn") and Ancient Greek phlóx ("flame").

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

  • English black derives from Middle English blak and Old English blæc. en.wiktionary.org
  • Old English blæc meant black or dark and also ink. en.wikipedia.org
  • Old English blæc descends from Proto-Germanic *blakaz, glossed burnt. en.wiktionary.org
  • The proposed derivation from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleg-, meaning to burn or shine, is possible rather than certain. en.wiktionary.org
  • Latin flagrāre means to burn and is an appropriate etymological comparison. en.wiktionary.org
  • Ancient Greek phlóx means flame and is an appropriate etymological comparison. en.wiktionary.org