canary in a coal mine
canary in a coal mine noun: 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.
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Noun
canary in a coal mine (plural canaries in a coal mine or canaries in coal mines)
- 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
- On the job, she was like a canary in a coal mine: If the subtle energy wasn't in balance, she was the first to notice.2008, Jean Haner, The Wisdom of Your Face: Change Your Life With Chinese Face Reading!, Hay House, published 2008, →ISBN, page 133
- Synonyms:
- miner's canary
Synonyms of canary in a coal mine
Forms of canary in a coal mine
| plural | canaries in a coal mine |
|---|---|
| plural | canaries in coal mines |
| alternative form | canary in a coalmine |
| alternative form | canary in the coal mine |
| alternative form | canary in the coalmine |
Origin of canary in a coal mine
An allusion to caged canaries that miners would carry down into the mine tunnels with them. If dangerous gases, such as carbon monoxide collected in the mine, the gases would kill the canary before killing the miners, thus providing a warning to exit the tunnels immediately.
Questions about canary in a coal mine
- What does canary in a coal mine mean?
- Canary in a coal mine means 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.
- What part of speech is canary in a coal mine?
- Canary in a coal mine is a noun.
- What is the plural of canary in a coal mine?
- The plural of canary in a coal mine is canaries in a coal mine.
Words near canary in a coal mine in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: 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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-canary in a coal mine.ogg, EN-UK canary in a coalmine.ogg.
Cite this entry: “canary in a coal mine.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/canary_in_a_coal_mine. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.