BLACK


Meaning of BLACK in English

/ blæk; NAmE / adjective , noun , verb

■ adjective

( black·er , black·est )

COLOUR

1.

having the very darkest colour, like night or coal :

a shiny black car

black storm clouds

WITH NO LIGHT

2.

without light; completely dark :

a black night

PEOPLE

3.

(also Black ) belonging to a race of people who have dark skin; connected with black people :

a black woman writer

black culture

HELP NOTE : Black is the word most widely used and generally accepted in Britain. In the US the currently accepted term is African American .

TEA / COFFEE

4.

without milk :

Two black coffees, please.

—compare white

DIRTY

5.

very dirty; covered with dirt :

chimneys black with smoke

Go and wash your hands; they're absolutely black!

ANGRY

6.

full of anger or hatred :

She's been in a really black mood all day.

Rory shot her a black look.

DEPRESSING

7.

without hope; very depressing :

The future looks pretty black.

It's been another black day for the north-east with the announcement of further job losses.

EVIL

8.

( literary ) evil or immoral :

black deeds / lies

HUMOUR

9.

dealing with unpleasant or terrible things, such as murder, in a humorous way :

'Good place to bury the bodies,' she joked with black humour .

The play is a black comedy .

►  black·ness noun [ U , sing. ]:

She peered out into the blackness of the night.

IDIOMS

- (beat sb) black and blue

- not as black as he / she / it is painted

—more at pot noun

■ noun

COLOUR

1.

[ U ] the very darkest colour, like night or coal :

the black of the night sky

Everyone at the funeral was dressed in black.

PEOPLE

2.

(also Black ) [ C , usually pl. ] a member of a race of people who have dark skin

HELP NOTE : In this meaning black is more common in the plural. It can sound offensive in the singular. Instead, you can use the adjective ('a black man / woman') or, in the US, African American .

IDIOMS

- be in the black

- black and white

- in black and white

- (in) black and white

■ verb [ vn ]

1.

( BrE ) to refuse to deal with goods or to do business with sb as a political protest

SYN boycott :

The unions have blacked all imports from the country.

2.

to make sth black

SYN blacken

PHRASAL VERBS

- black out

- black sth out

••

WORD ORIGIN

Old English blæc , of Germanic origin.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.