go dark

phrase

1

: to become dark

The room suddenly went dark.

2

a

: to stop operating or functioning : to shut down

Most Salt Lake City restaurants go dark on Sundays …

—Kurt Repanshek

Andy Beal was one of 220 million subscribers to Skype … who saw the service go dark on Aug. 16.

—Stephen Baker

In the end, the heart stops, the cells die, the neurons go dark …

—Joshua Ferris

b

communications : to stop broadcasting or transmitting : to go offline

… Lt. Col. Steve Russell of the Army's 4th Infantry Division ordered his men to "go dark" and roll their Humvees up to the edge of a lone farmhouse here.

—William Booth

Examples of go dark in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ueno’s app, cards and transfers went dark and its branches locked their doors, leaving desperate depositors lined up outside with no way to cash out their savings. — ABC News, 5 Nov. 2026

Around Tozeur, eclipse chasers can experience totality among the dunes of Mos Espa and the rocky Jundland Wastes, while on Djerba, locations used for Mos Eisley and Obi-Wan Kenobi's home will also briefly go dark. — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 3 Nov. 2026

Just ask the massive community of Archive of Our Own readers, who in the past few days have gone from panic to ingenuity after their beloved fanfic haven went dark. — Angela Yang, NBC news, 2 Nov. 2026

The Treasure Valley’s restaurant and bar landscape is shifting fast, with new arrivals in Meridian and some familiar names going dark. — Chadd Cripe. Produced With Ai Assistance, Idaho Statesman, 1 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1915, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Rhymes for go dark

• ballpark
• benchmark
• birthmark
• daymark
• earmark
• embark
• hallmark
• landmark
• monarch
• postmark
• remark
• skylark