grayout

1 of 2

noun

gray·​out ˈgrā-ˌau̇t How to pronounce grayout (audio)
variants or less commonly greyout
plural grayouts also greyouts
: a transient dimming or haziness of vision resulting from temporary impairment of cerebral circulation

gray out

2 of 2

verb

variants or less commonly grey out
grayed out also greyed out; graying out also greying out; grays out also greys out

intransitive verb

: to experience a grayout
She cut her head, bloodied her nose … and had actually grayed out for a few moments with shock.Stephen King

transitive verb

: to cause (something or someone) to appear gray or grayish
"In terms of what shows up on the public website, we will be greying out faces and licence plates for now."Jesse Zeman
specifically : to cause (an element of a computer interface, webpage, etc.) to appear gray or grayish (as to indicate that its function is unavailable or already used)
Similarly, the visual signal of graying out a headline to remind readers they've already read it needs to work across devices. Ken Doctor
grayed out adjective
or less commonly grayed-out or greyed out or greyed-out
grayed out vision
a grayed out button

Examples of grayout in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
Those apps become paused, grayed out and notifications are hidden. Sabrina Weiss, WIRED, 4 Sep. 2019 States with absolute mortalities <20 are grayed out because of unreliable crude death rates (these include Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, and District of Columbia). Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 7 Sep. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1942, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1938, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of grayout was in 1938

Dictionary Entries Near grayout

Cite this Entry

“Grayout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grayout. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

Medical Definition

grayout

1 of 2 noun
gray·​out
variants or chiefly British greyout
: a transient dimming or haziness of vision resulting from temporary impairment of cerebral circulation compare blackout, redout

gray out

2 of 2 intransitive verb
: to experience a grayout compare black out, red out
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!