of the very darkest colour owing to the absence of or complete absorption of light; the opposite of white

black smoke

her long black hair

a beautiful black dress

belonging to or denoting a human group having dark-coloured skin, especially of sub-Saharan African ancestry

the entire cast is black

he discusses the position of Black people in America

the Black community

characterized by tragic or disastrous events; causing despair or pessimism

five thousand men were killed on the blackest day of the war

the future looks black

denoting a covert military procedure

clearance for black operations came from the highest political level

(of goods or work) not to be handled or undertaken by trade union members, especially so as to express support for an industrial dispute elsewhere

the union declared the ship black