Black Swan Definition & Meaning

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  • American
  • British
  • Etymology
  • Examples
    • black swan American

    noun

    1. an Australian swan, Cygnus atratus, having mostly black plumage and a red bill.

    2. an occurrence or phenomenon that comes as a surprise because it was not predicted or was hard to predict (often used attributively).

      a disastrous black-swan event that only appeared obvious in hindsight.

    black swan British

    noun

    1. a large Australian swan, Cygnus atratus , that has a black plumage and red bill

    2. a phenomenon that occurs even though it had been thought to be impossible

    "Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

    Etymology

    Origin of black swan

    black swan ( def. 2 ) from the belief that all swans were white, before the first sighting of Australian black swans

    Example Sentences

    Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

    In the words of one central-bank manager, he quoted, the precious metal is the “ultimate protection against black swan tail risk events”.

    From MarketWatch

    In one of her last Weibo posts in October, Zheng reflected on so-called "black swan events" that she experienced last year.

    From BBC

    “These black swan events have always happened, but now they sit on the background of a hotter climate, so are even more deadly.”

    From Seattle Times

    "What happened was tantamount to a black swan event. I don't think anyone ever foresaw the extent of this ever happening," McCormick said at one of the group's malls in Johannesburg.

    From Reuters

    It’s not really black swan events, Renesas is, but it’s really more kind of dealing with the realities of a different supply chain focused on electronic components.

    From Seattle Times

    Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

    Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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