Illustration of eclipse
- E earth
- M moon in solar eclipse
- P penumbra
- S sun
- U umbra
1
a
: the total or partial obscuring of one celestial body by another
b
: the passing into the shadow of a celestial body compare occultation, transit
2
: a falling into obscurity or decline
3
: the state of being in eclipse plumage
eclipsed; eclipsing
Synonyms
Examples of eclipse in a Sentence
Noun
an eclipse of the sun
The popularity of television led to the eclipse of the radio drama.
an artist whose reputation has long been in eclipse
Verb
The sun was partially eclipsed by the moon.
Train travel was eclipsed by the growth of commercial airlines.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ashley Strickland, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
Monday’s eclipse was a rare, momentous occasion that brought thousands outside, some venturing around the country to witness the event.
—Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2024
Scientists can predict the timing of eclipses like the one April 8 using computer models that show how the Earth and moon move around the sun.
—Chris Mueller, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
The footage shows giraffes and zebra rampaging in their pens before the eclipse — a reaction Hartstone-Rose attributes to human anticipation of the impending eclipse.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Apr. 2024
So that was taken on and before the eclipse happened.
—Leah Feiger, WIRED, 11 Apr. 2024
Astronomers Without Borders is collecting glasses to then disperse the donations across the globe for the next eclipse.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024
Totality Totality’s main feature is a nifty map that displays the path of the eclipse.
—Will Henshall, TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
The best chance to see these planets is at the darkest point of the eclipse.
—Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2024
Bysasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 16 Apr. 2024
In the years that followed, questions surrounding what happened that night eclipsed much of Wood's story, her life and her body of work.
—Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 14 Apr. 2024
The auction house’s first gender-free watch auction, which took place in an underground wine cellar in Geneva, eclipsed estimates to achieve an impressive $1.3 million.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 12 Apr. 2024
Maybe State would eclipse the program’s previous high-water mark, a Sweet 16 appearance 14 years ago.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Apr. 2024
Watch Stewart discuss the earthquake and eclipse in the video above.
—EW.com, 9 Apr. 2024
Totality will reach Burlington at 3:26 p.m. ET before moving into the remaining states and reaching Canada around 4:25 p.m.
Outside the path of totality, 87.4% of the sun will be eclipsed in Washington, D.C. at 3:20 p.m. ET, and Chicago will have maximum coverage of 93.9% at 2:07 p.m. CT.
—Sarah Maddox, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2024
And about once every 18 months or so, this celestial alignment occurs while the moon is close enough to Earth to cover the sun completely — in other words, to totally eclipse it.
—Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2024
This late in the game, many people don't want to order eclipse glasses online.
—Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 2 Apr. 2024
Noun
See Goldstein’s stunning image of the eclipse in the gallery of our Wonder Theory reader images.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
Monday’s eclipse was a rare, momentous occasion that brought thousands outside, some venturing around the country to witness the event.
—Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2024
Scientists can predict the timing of eclipses like the one April 8 using computer models that show how the Earth and moon move around the sun.
—Chris Mueller, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
The footage shows giraffes and zebra rampaging in their pens before the eclipse — a reaction Hartstone-Rose attributes to human anticipation of the impending eclipse.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Apr. 2024
So that was taken on and before the eclipse happened.
—Leah Feiger, WIRED, 11 Apr. 2024
Astronomers Without Borders is collecting glasses to then disperse the donations across the globe for the next eclipse.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024
Totality Totality’s main feature is a nifty map that displays the path of the eclipse.
—Will Henshall, TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
The best chance to see these planets is at the darkest point of the eclipse.
—Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2024
Verb
The viewership of the women’s NCAA March Madness tournament eclipsed that of the men’s this year, with a record 18.7 million viewers watching the South Carolina Gamecocks and the University of Iowa Hawkeyes square off, compared to 14.82 million watching the men’s final.
—Bysasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 16 Apr. 2024
In the years that followed, questions surrounding what happened that night eclipsed much of Wood's story, her life and her body of work.
—Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 14 Apr. 2024
The auction house’s first gender-free watch auction, which took place in an underground wine cellar in Geneva, eclipsed estimates to achieve an impressive $1.3 million.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 12 Apr. 2024
Maybe State would eclipse the program’s previous high-water mark, a Sweet 16 appearance 14 years ago.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Apr. 2024
Watch Stewart discuss the earthquake and eclipse in the video above.
—EW.com, 9 Apr. 2024
Totality will reach Burlington at 3:26 p.m. ET before moving into the remaining states and reaching Canada around 4:25 p.m.
Outside the path of totality, 87.4% of the sun will be eclipsed in Washington, D.C. at 3:20 p.m. ET, and Chicago will have maximum coverage of 93.9% at 2:07 p.m. CT.
—Sarah Maddox, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2024
And about once every 18 months or so, this celestial alignment occurs while the moon is close enough to Earth to cover the sun completely — in other words, to totally eclipse it.
—Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2024
This late in the game, many people don't want to order eclipse glasses online.
—Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 2 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eclipse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Eclipse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eclipse. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
eclipse
1 of 2 noun1
a
: the total or partial hiding of a planet, star, or moon by another
b
: the passing into the shadow of a planet, star, or moon
2
: a falling into disgrace or out of use or public favor
eclipse
2 of 2 verb
eclipsed; eclipsing
1
: to cause an eclipse of
2
a
: to reduce in importance
b
: to do or be much better than : outshine
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