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canaries in coal mines

canaries in coal mines is the plural of canary in a coal mine.

Meaning of canary in a coal mine

Noun

canary in a coal mine (plural canaries in a coal mine or canaries in coal mines)

  1. (idiomatic) Something whose sensitivity to adverse conditions makes it a useful early indicator of such conditions; something which warns of the coming of a greater danger or trouble by a deterioration in its health or welfare.
    • "A mussel is a canary in a coal mine," Clemens explained. "When the freshwater mussels are healthy, it indicates good water quality."2003 April, “Saving the St. Joe”, in Field & Stream
    Synonyms:
    miner's canary

Questions about canaries in coal mines

What is canaries in coal mines the plural of?
Canaries in coal mines is the plural of canary in a coal mine.

Words near canaries in coal mines in the dictionary

  1. canaridigitoxoside
  2. canaried
  3. canaries
  4. canaries in a coal mine
  5. canaries in a coalmine
  6. canaries in coal mines
  7. canaries in coalmines
  8. canaries in the coal mine
  9. canaries in the coal mines
  10. canaries in the coalmine
  11. canaries in the coalmines

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: canaries in coal mines (page history and authors); canary in a coal mine (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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