black

Universal Words adjective, noun, verb adjective (blacker, blackest) 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 HELPNOTE 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. compareWHITE 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, I'm afraid. * It's been another black day for the north-east with the announcement of further job losses. evil 8 (literary) evil or wicked: 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. blackness noun [U,sing.]: She peered out into the blackness of the night. IDIOMS (beat sb) black and blue (to hit sb until they are) covered with BRUISES (= blue, brown or purple marks on the body) not as black as he / she / it is painted not as bad as people say he/she/it is: He's not very friendly, but he's not as black as he's painted. moreatPOTn. 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 HELPNOTE 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 to have money, for example in your bank account: The company has managed to stay in the black for the year ending December 31. compare(be in) the red at RED black and white having no colours except black, white and shades of grey (in photographs, on television, etc.): a film made in black and white * black-and-white photos in black and white in writing or in print: I never thought they'd put it in black and white on the front page. (in) black and white in a way that makes people or things seem completely bad or good, or completely right or wrong: It's a complex issue, but he only sees it in black and white. * This is not a black-and-white decision (= where the difference between two choices is completely clear). verb [VN] 1 (BrE) to refuse to deal with goods or to do business with sb as a political protest SYNBOYCOTT: The unions have blacked all imports from the country. 2 (rare) to make sth black SYNBLACKEN PHRASALVERBS black out to lose consciousness for a short time: The driver had probably blacked out at the wheel. relatednounBLACKOUT black sth<->out 1 to make a place dark by turning off lights, covering windows, etc: A power failure blacked out the city last night. * a house with blacked out windows relatednounBLACKOUT 2 to prevent sth such as a piece of writing or a television broadcast from being read or seen: Some lines of the document have been blacked out for security reasons.