canary
canary — noun
1. a brightly coloured bird from the finch family, commonly kept indoors in a cage
a brightly coloured bird from the finch family, commonly kept indoors in a cage and valued for its musical song
The Watanabe family keeps a canary in a cage by the kitchen window.
countable noun with 'a/an'
My grandfather taught his canary to sing along with the radio every morning.
Canaries are popular pets because of their bright feathers and cheerful songs.
A small yellow canary perched on the edge of its cage and began to sing.
The children saved their pocket money to buy a canary from the pet shop.
用法筆記
The bird's original habitat is the Canary Islands, but today most pet canaries are bred in captivity. The colour most people associate with canaries (bright yellow) is actually a domestic mutation — wild canaries are usually greenish-brown.
常見錯誤
2. a shade of bright, warm yellow, similar to the colour of a domestic canary bird'
a shade of bright, warm yellow, similar to the colour of a domestic canary bird's feathers
Priya painted her kitchen walls a cheerful shade of canary.
uncountable use as a colour name
The bride's bouquet featured roses in soft pink and canary yellow.
compound colour: canary yellow
His new running shoes were a loud canary that everyone on the track noticed.
The sunset faded from deep orange into a pale canary near the horizon.
The artist mixed white with yellow to create a soft canary for the background.
文法句型
used as a colour name
用法筆記
When used as a colour name, 'canary' is normally an uncountable noun ('a shade of canary'), but it can be used with a determiner in informal contexts ('a loud canary'). It also appears in the compound adjective 'canary yellow'.
常見錯誤
canary — adjective
1. having a bright yellow colour, like the feathers of a domestic canary bird
having a bright yellow colour, like the feathers of a domestic canary bird
A canary raincoat hung on the hook near the front door.
attributive use before a noun
The rescue workers wore canary helmets so that drivers could see them easily.
Leila chose a canary scarf to brighten up her plain grey coat.
A canary school bus waited at the corner of Elm Street every morning.
The taxi stand was easy to find because of the canary sign above it.
- bright yellow
the most common descriptive equivalent; less specific than 'canary'
- yellow
the basic colour term; less vivid than canary
- golden
a warmer, deeper yellow than canary
用法筆記
This adjective is used only before a noun (attributive position). It is not used after linking verbs like 'is' or 'looks' — for that use, say 'canary yellow' or 'bright yellow' instead.