eclipse

noun

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\ i-ˈklips

Definition of eclipse

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : 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 also : the state of being eclipsed his reputation has fallen into eclipse

3 : the state of being in eclipse plumage

eclipse

verb

eclipsed; eclipsing

Definition of eclipse (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to cause an eclipse of: such as

a : obscure, darken

b : to reduce in importance or repute

c : surpass her score eclipsed the old record

Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about eclipse

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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: Noun The Madras Airport used a temporary air traffic control service to handle the 412 planes that were scheduled to fly in and out for the eclipse — the most traffic ever at the airport. — oregonlive, "Federal report details cause of 2017 solar eclipse plane crash near Madras," 30 Dec. 2019 Maximum eclipse will occur at about 6:40 UTC, 12:10 p.m. local time, in Uttarakhand, India. — Jay Bennett, Smithsonian Magazine, "Ten Celestial Events You Don’t Want to Miss in 2020," 14 Jan. 2020 The eclipse on Friday will occur when the moon moves into Earth's penumbra, or outer shadow. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Wolf moon eclipse kicks off the first of 13 full moons in 2020," 10 Jan. 2020 The eclipse occurs when the moon moves through the outer part of Earth’s shadow. — Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, "The first full moon of 2020 - known as the wolf moon - will rise Friday night," 9 Jan. 2020 Watch a Total Solar Eclipse The next full eclipse visible from the U.S. won’t be until 2024. — Megan Michelson, Outside Online, "7 Adventures to Start the New Decade with a Bang," 17 Dec. 2019 A few weeks before the accident, though, a Sunday in early January offered me the basketball equivalent of a full eclipse of the moon: a hoops doubleheader. — Michael Powell, New York Times, "The Lakers, the Clippers and a Rare Fight for L.A. Basketball Primacy," 21 Feb. 2020 How to watch online The bad news for most in the U.S. is that partial eclipse will occur while the moon is below the horizon. — Leada Gore | Lgore@al.com, al, "Wolf Moon lunar eclipse: First full moon of the decade is today; how to watch online," 10 Jan. 2020 Broader regions across the Eastern Hemisphere will see a partial eclipse of the sun. — National Geographic, "What are the decade's biggest discoveries?," 25 Dec. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Transportation eclipsed the energy sector with the largest share of US carbon emissions production for the first time in 2016, and, justifiably, climate advocates turned their attention to vehicle electrification as an urgent concern. — Nathaniel Horadam, Ars Technica, "Are electric vehicles doomed? We don’t think so, despite poor sales," 27 Apr. 2020 That eclipsed Disney's market value of $184 billion. — Chris Isidore, CNN, "Tiger King + coronavirus = Huge win for Netflix's stock," 19 Apr. 2020 Hill eclipsed Knight by raising $8.4 million to his $2.5 million in the last midterm election. — Kerry Picket, Washington Examiner, "House GOP sees California comeback opportunity in special election," 11 Apr. 2020 As in some of the plays performed in Ford’s Theatre, minor roles sometimes eclipse major ones in this fascinating account. — The Economist, "Immortal words The tragic genius of Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural," 27 Feb. 2020 But billions of dollars and thousands of engineers haven’t produced a robot that can match, let alone eclipse, the ability of the human driver. — Alex Davies, Wired, "When the Transportation Revolution Hit the Real World," 26 Dec. 2019 Ryan Carlson, Tolland, senior, RB: Rushed for 188 yards, eclipsing 1,000 for the season, and scored three times in a 41-7 win over E.O. Smith. — Shawn Mcfarland, courant.com, "High school football: Northwest Catholic’s Rich, Simsbury’s Boeshans among six quarterbacks on final Fab 15 of regular season," 3 Dec. 2019 For the first time since the run-up to the Great Recession, the yields - or returns - on short-term U.S. bonds eclipsed those of long-term bonds. — Damian Paletta, oregonlive.com, "Dow plunges 800 points as recession fears mount," 14 Aug. 2019 Avoid gossiping during this period, as rumors may be extra unreliable due to Mercury retrograde, thanks to the full moon and eclipse energy. — Sophie Saint Thomas, Allure, "How to Use This Month's Mercury Retrograde to Your Advantage," 27 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'eclipse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for eclipse

Noun

borrowed from Middle English eclipse, clips, borrowed from Anglo-French eclyps, eclypse, borrowed from Latin eclīpsis, borrowed from Greek ékleipsis "abandonment, failure, cessation, obscuring of a celestial body by another," from ekleípein "to leave out, abandon, cease, die, be obscured (of a celestial body)" (from ek- ec- + leípein "to leave, quit, be missing") + -sis -sis — more at delinquent entry 2