black out

verb

blacked out; blacking out; blacks out

transitive verb

1

a

: blot out, erase

blacked out the event from his mind

b

: to suppress by censorship

black out the news

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

intransitive verb

1

: to become enveloped in darkness

2

: to undergo a temporary loss of vision, consciousness, or memory

Synonyms of black out

• eradicate
• erase
• abolish
• destroy
• wipe out
• sweep (away)

Examples of black out in a Sentence

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

But sometimes even blacking out after long night shoots? —Jordan Moreau, Variety, 3 June 2026

When Cedar Point unveiled Magnum XL-200, then the tallest, fastest, steepest coaster on the planet, Six Flags countered with Goliath, a 235-foot steel monster known for occasionally making its riders black out from G-force. —HubSpot, 1 June 2026

The person’s name is blacked out in the report released online. —John Seiler, Oc Register, 28 May 2026

Some hospitalized miners recalled seeing smoke and blacking out, according to state media reports. —ABC News, 23 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Rhymes for black out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout

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

-ˈau̇t

verb

Medical Definition

blackout

1 of 2 noun

black·​out ˈblak-ˌau̇t 

: a transient dulling or loss of vision, consciousness, or memory

an alcoholic blackout

compare grayout, redout

black out

2 of 2 intransitive verb

(ˈ)blak-ˈau̇t 

: to undergo a temporary loss of vision, consciousness, or memory (as from temporary impairment of cerebral circulation, retinal anoxia, a traumatic emotional blow, or an alcoholic binge) compare gray out, red out

transitive verb

: to cause to black out