lacking hue and brightness; absorbing light without reflecting any of the rays composing it.

characterized by absence of light; enveloped in darkness

a black night.

( sometimes initial capital letter )

pertaining or belonging to any of the various populations characterized by dark skin pigmentation, specifically the dark-skinned peoples of Africa, Oceania, and Australia.

African-American.

soiled or stained with dirt

That shirt was black within an hour.

gloomy; pessimistic; dismal

a black outlook.

deliberately; harmful; inexcusable

a black lie.

boding ill; sullen or hostile; threatening

black words; black looks.

(of coffee or tea) without milk or cream.

without any moral quality or goodness; evil; wicked

His black heart has concocted yet another black deed.

indicating censure, disgrace, or liability to punishment

a black mark on one's record.

marked by disaster or misfortune

black areas of drought; Black Friday.

wearing black or dark clothing or armor

the black prince.

based on the grotesque, morbid, or unpleasant aspects of life

black comedy; black humor.

(of a check mark, flag, etc.) done or written in black to indicate, as on a list, that which is undesirable, sub-standard, potentially dangerous, etc.

Pilots put a black flag next to the ten most dangerous airports.

illegal or underground

The black economy pays no taxes.

showing a profit; not showing any losses

the first black quarter in two years.

deliberately false or intentionally misleading

black propaganda.

British . boycotted, as certain goods or products by a trade union.

(of steel) in the form in which it comes from the rolling mill or forge; unfinished.

the color at one extreme end of the scale of grays, opposite to white, absorbing all light incident upon it. Compare white ( def. 19 ) .

( sometimes initial capital letter )

a member of any of various dark-skinned peoples, esp. those of Africa, Oceania, and Australia.

African-American.

black clothing, esp. as a sign of mourning

He wore black at the funeral.

Chess, Checkers . the dark-colored men or pieces or squares.

black pigment

lamp black.

Slang . black beauty.

a horse or other animal that is entirely black.

to make black; put black on; blacken.

British . to boycott or ban.

to polish (shoes, boots, etc.) with blacking.

to become black; take on a black color; blacken.

(of coffee or tea) served without milk or cream. ?

black out,

to lose consciousness

He blacked out at the sight of blood.

to erase, obliterate, or suppress

News reports were blacked out.

to forget everything relating to a particular event, person, etc.

When it came to his war experiences he blacked out completely.

Theater . to extinguish all of the stage lights.

to make or become inoperable

to black out the radio broadcasts from the U.S.

Military . to obscure by concealing all light in defense against air raids.

Radio and Television . to impose a broadcast blackout on (an area).

to withdraw or cancel (a special fare, sale, discount, etc.) for a designated period

The special air fare discount will be blacked out by the airlines over the holiday weekend.

black and white

print or writing

I want that agreement in black and white.

a monochromatic picture done with black and white only.

a chocolate soda containing vanilla ice cream.

black or white, completely either one way or another

without any intermediate state.

in the black

operating at a profit or being out of debt ( opposed to in the red )

New production methods put the company in the black.

adjective

dark , dusky