black·out
ˈblak-ˌau̇t 
1
a
: a turning off of the stage lighting to separate scenes in a play or end a play or skit
also
: a skit that ends with a blackout
b
: a period of darkness enforced as a precaution against air raids
c
: a period of darkness (as in a city) caused by a failure of electrical power
2
: a transient dulling or loss of vision, consciousness, or memory
an alcoholic blackout
3
a
: a wiping out : obliteration
b
: a blotting out by censorship : suppression
a news blackout
4
: a usually temporary loss of a radio signal
5
: the prohibition or restriction of the telecasting of a sports event
6
: a time during which a special commercial offer (as of tickets) is not valid
—usually used attributively
blackout dates
blacked out; blacking out; blacks out
1
2
: to envelop in darkness
black out the stage
3
: to make inoperative (as by a power failure)
4
: to impose a blackout on
blacked out the local game
1
: to become enveloped in darkness
2
: to undergo a temporary loss of vision, consciousness, or memory
Synonyms
Examples of blackout in a Sentence
Noun
the blackouts of World War II
She keeps flashlights and candles handy in case of a blackout.
He told his doctor he had been experiencing blackouts.
Verb
had spent most of her adulthood trying to black out memories of a wretched childhood
with the delivery of the knockout punch, the screen blacks out, and in the next scene the boxer wakes up in the hospital
Recent Examples on the Web
Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2023
Indianapolis and Houston will be broadcast on Fox and is subject to blackouts.
—Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 17 Sep. 2023
The sale is not valid on travel on Fridays or Sundays, but has no other blackout dates.
—Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 15 Sep. 2023
The blackout meant that its customers couldn’t see such popular programming as the U.S. Open tennis tournament and college football.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Sep. 2023
The Russian military intelligence group Sandworm, for example, has attempted to cause three blackouts in Ukraine—two of which succeeded.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 12 Sep. 2023
Disney and Charter Communications have reached an agreement that will restore popular channels, including ESPN and ABC, to the cable operator’s nearly 15 million subscribers, ending a blackout that lasted for more than a week.
—Joe Flint, WSJ, 11 Sep. 2023
The Charter Spectrum blackout lasted nearly two weeks, affecting 14.7 million customers in major markets like New York and Los Angeles.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 11 Sep. 2023
Wednesday evening’s sudden descent into what’s known as a Level 2 energy emergency prompted ERCOT to issue warnings about the potential for rolling blackouts.
—Bloomberg Wire, Dallas News, 7 Sep. 2023
Eric Tucker, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Sep. 2023
In response to a Public Information Act request, the Board of Ethics released a list of donors that month; however the names, emails and addresses of each donor were blacked out on the seven-page document.
—Emily Opilo, Baltimore Sun, 6 Sep. 2023
Roads remained blocked by tree trunks and downed power lines, and traffic lights were still blacked out at major intersections.
—CBS News, 1 Sep. 2023
More redactions for personal business left 15 full days on the calendar, almost all Saturdays or Sundays, in which the governor’s location was blacked out.
—Sam Janesch, Baltimore Sun, 30 Aug. 2023
The inmate blamed Alexis’ disappearance on a high-level drug dealer, whose name also was blacked out.
—Gina Barton, USA TODAY, 20 July 2023
That's good news for fans in Arizona (not to mention New Mexico, Utah and parts of southern Nevada) who had previously been blacked out from Diamondbacks games.
—Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 19 July 2023
Fans in the Diamondbacks’ home television territory — who were previously blacked out from watching games on MLB.TV — will now be able to subscribe to that service for $19.99 per month or $54.99 for the remainder of the season.
—The Arizona Republic, 18 July 2023
In that case the officer’s name remains blacked out in a legal memo and withheld in charging documents.
—Jacob Resneck, Journal Sentinel, 10 Aug. 2023
See More
Noun
DirecTV and Nexstar Media Group have agreed to restore Nexstar’s broadcast station signals to DirecTV customer homes — ending a nationwide blackout of stations including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and CW network affiliates.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2023
Indianapolis and Houston will be broadcast on Fox and is subject to blackouts.
—Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 17 Sep. 2023
The sale is not valid on travel on Fridays or Sundays, but has no other blackout dates.
—Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 15 Sep. 2023
The blackout meant that its customers couldn’t see such popular programming as the U.S. Open tennis tournament and college football.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Sep. 2023
The Russian military intelligence group Sandworm, for example, has attempted to cause three blackouts in Ukraine—two of which succeeded.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 12 Sep. 2023
Disney and Charter Communications have reached an agreement that will restore popular channels, including ESPN and ABC, to the cable operator’s nearly 15 million subscribers, ending a blackout that lasted for more than a week.
—Joe Flint, WSJ, 11 Sep. 2023
The Charter Spectrum blackout lasted nearly two weeks, affecting 14.7 million customers in major markets like New York and Los Angeles.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 11 Sep. 2023
Wednesday evening’s sudden descent into what’s known as a Level 2 energy emergency prompted ERCOT to issue warnings about the potential for rolling blackouts.
—Bloomberg Wire, Dallas News, 7 Sep. 2023
Verb
Chutkan on Friday granted permission to prosecutors to file a redacted motion publicly, with names and identifying information of individuals who say they’ve been harassed as a result of Trump’s attacks blacked out.
—Eric Tucker, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Sep. 2023
In response to a Public Information Act request, the Board of Ethics released a list of donors that month; however the names, emails and addresses of each donor were blacked out on the seven-page document.
—Emily Opilo, Baltimore Sun, 6 Sep. 2023
Roads remained blocked by tree trunks and downed power lines, and traffic lights were still blacked out at major intersections.
—CBS News, 1 Sep. 2023
More redactions for personal business left 15 full days on the calendar, almost all Saturdays or Sundays, in which the governor’s location was blacked out.
—Sam Janesch, Baltimore Sun, 30 Aug. 2023
The inmate blamed Alexis’ disappearance on a high-level drug dealer, whose name also was blacked out.
—Gina Barton, USA TODAY, 20 July 2023
That's good news for fans in Arizona (not to mention New Mexico, Utah and parts of southern Nevada) who had previously been blacked out from Diamondbacks games.
—Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 19 July 2023
Fans in the Diamondbacks’ home television territory — who were previously blacked out from watching games on MLB.TV — will now be able to subscribe to that service for $19.99 per month or $54.99 for the remainder of the season.
—The Arizona Republic, 18 July 2023
In that case the officer’s name remains blacked out in a legal memo and withheld in charging documents.
—Jacob Resneck, Journal Sentinel, 10 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'blackout.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
Noun
1913, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Verb
1824, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a
Dictionary Entries Near blackout
Cite this Entry
“Blackout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blackout. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
blackout
noun
black·out
ˈblak-ˌau̇t
1
: a period when lights are kept off to guard against enemy airplane attack in a war
2
: a period when lights are off as a result of an electrical power failure
3
: a temporary dulling or loss of vision or consciousness
black out
verb
-ˈau̇t
Medical Definition
blackout
1 of 2 noun
black·out
ˈblak-ˌau̇t
black out
2 of 2 intransitive verb
: to cause to black out
More from Merriam-Webster on blackout
Nglish: Translation of blackout for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about blackout
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