- having the very darkest colour, like coal or the sky at night
- a shiny black car
- black storm clouds
- She had curly black hair and hazel eyes.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- very
- all
- completely
- …
- deep
- jet
- pitch
- …
- without light; completely dark
- a black night
- My head banged on a rock and everything went black.
Extra Examples- The wind and rain intensified the black darkness outside.
- Through the black night came the sound of thunder.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- very
- all
- completely
- …
- deep
- jet
- pitch
- …
- (often Black)belonging to a group of people who have dark skin, especially people who come from or whose ancestors came from Africa; relating to black people
- The film is set in a historically black community.
- a discussion of what it means to be Black and British
- a Black woman writer
- He's seen as a role model for young Black men.
Sensitive Language Black peopleBlack peopleTopics People in societya1- Black is the word most widely used and generally accepted in Britain and the US to describe people with dark skin. The forms Black and black are both used:
- the Black community
- My mother is white and my father is black.
- The term Black American is often used for people who are Black and from the US. The term African American is also often used, especially for people whose ancestors came from Africa.
- The adjective African-Caribbean is sometimes used to describe Black people who live in Britain and whose ancestors came from the Caribbean:
- the UK African-Caribbean population
- The terms Afro-Latino and Afro-Latina are used in the US to refer to people with family origins in both Africa and Latin America. Not all Afro-Latinos identify as Black: they may think of themselves as Hispanic, white or mixed-race.
- The term person of colour/color is now often the preferred way of talking in general about people who do not identify as white:
- People of colour/color were not well represented on the committee.
- without milk
- Two black coffees, please.
- very dirty; covered with dirt
- chimneys black with smoke
- Go and wash your hands; they're absolutely black!
- full of anger or hate
- She's been in a really black mood all day.
- Rory shot her a black look.
- without hope; very depressing
- The future looks pretty black.
- It's been another black day for the north-east with the announcement of further job losses.
- (literary) evil or immoral
- black deeds/lies
- 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.
colour
with no light
people
tea/coffee
dirty
angry
depressing
evil
humour
Word OriginOld English blæc, of Germanic origin.
Idioms
See black in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee black in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English(beat somebody) black and blue
- (to hit somebody until they are) covered with bruises (= blue, brown or purple marks on the body)More Like This Alliteration in idiomsAlliteration in idioms
- belt and braces
- black and blue
- born and bred
- chalk and cheese
- chop and change
- done and dusted
- down and dirty
- in dribs and drabs
- eat somebody out of house and home
- facts and figures
- fast and furious
- first and foremost
- forgive and forget
- hale and hearty
- hem and haw
- kith and kin
- mix and match
- part and parcel
- puff and pant
- to rack and ruin
- rant and rave
- risk life and limb
- short and sweet
- signed and sealed
- spick and span
- through thick and thin
- this and that
- top and tail
- tried and tested
- wax and wane
the pot calling the kettle black
- (saying, informal) used to say that you should not criticize somebody for a fault that you have yourself
Check pronunciation:
black