Meaning & use
black
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Having the darkest color of all, like coal or a night with no light.
Grammar: Comparable but rarely: blacker; often compounded: jet-black.
Patterns
- black as something
- jet black
She wore a black dress and black shoes.
The sky turned black before the storm.
He drinks his coffee black, with no milk.
nouncountable or uncountable
The darkest color, seen when no light is reflected.
Grammar: Uncountable for the color: dressed in black.
Patterns
- dressed in black
- in black and white
He always dresses in black.
The painting uses black to create deep shadows.
The curtains were a heavy black.
adjectivecomparablefigurative
Bleak, gloomy or hopeless in feeling or outlook.
Grammar: Used before nouns such as mood or day: a black mood.
Patterns
- a black mood
- black thoughts
He was in a black mood after losing the match.
Those were black days for the company.
A black cloud of worry hung over the family.
adjectivebefore a noun
Dark and grim in humor, treating death or misfortune as funny.
Grammar: Appears in fixed phrases: black comedy, black humor.
Patterns
- black comedy
- black humor
The film is a black comedy about a funeral.
Doctors sometimes use black humor to cope.
The show's black humor is not for everyone.
adjectivebefore a nounbusiness
Of illegal or secret business, as in unreported trade.
Grammar: In fixed phrases: black market.
Patterns
- black market
- black economy
Tickets for the final were sold on the black market.
The police closed down a black market operation.
The black economy avoids taxes.
adjectivebefore a noun
Belonging to or relating to people with dark skin, especially people of African descent, usually capitalized in this sense.
Grammar: Used respectfully as an adjective or about a group; capitalization is common in modern style guides.
Patterns
- Black history
- a Black community
The museum has an exhibit on Black history.
She leads a Black-owned business.
He joined a Black writers' group.
Word forms
| comparative | blacker |
|---|---|
| superlative | blackest |
| plural (noun) | blacks |
Common combinations
- black and white
- The movie was filmed in black and white.
- jet black
- Her hair was jet black.
- black market
- Rare goods appear on the black market.
- in the black
- The company is finally in the black.
- black out
- The room went black when the power failed.
- black eye
- He got a black eye in the fall.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dark
- Dark is a general word for lacking light and can describe any shade, while black means the extreme.
- ebony
- Ebony is poetic and refers to a deep, glossy black like the wood.
- jet
- Jet is used for shiny, deep black, often of hair or stones.
- inky
- Inky describes a thick, wet-looking darkness, like ink.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: black or Black / black? black or block?
black vs Black / black
As a descriptor of people, many style guides use a capital B. For the color, always use lowercase.
black vs block
Block is a solid piece or a verb meaning obstruct, and sounds slightly different.
Practice
The business is finally in the ____ after two years of losses, meaning it now makes a profit.
Choose one answer.
In the black means making a profit. In the red means losing money, so red is the tempting wrong answer. White and gray are not used in this idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “black”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.