Word.ws English Dictionary

the new black

the new black noun: something that is trendy, popular; the latest fashion.

Noun

the new black

  1. Something that is trendy, popular; the latest fashion.
    • These reporters are so caught up in the ‘red is the new black’ mentality," he says, "they're more interested in selling clothes than taking a stand on anything.2004, Out, volume 4, numbers 1-5, page 14
    • EMILY: ... I'm interested in the brain, and stuff... neurology... it's very trendy right now.
      RICHARD. Neurology. It's the new black.2008, Nina Raine, Rabbit, page 49

Origin of the new black

The phrase originates with clothing fashion, where at one point black was a fashionable color in clothes, and the next color to become fashionable was referred to as "the new black".

Questions about the new black

What does the new black mean?
The new black means something that is trendy, popular; the latest fashion.
What part of speech is the new black?
The new black is a noun.

Words near the new black in the dictionary

  1. the nail that sticks up gets hammered down
  2. the natives are getting restless
  3. the natives are restless
  4. the nerve of
  5. The Netherlands
  6. the new black
  7. the next best thing
  8. the next day
  9. the night before last
  10. the night is young
  11. The Nodfather

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: the new black (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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Cite this entry: “the new black.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/the_new_black. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.