outage

noun

out·​age ˈau̇-tij 

1

: a quantity or bulk of something lost in transportation or storage

2

a

: a failure or interruption in use or functioning

b

: a period of interruption especially of electric current

Examples of outage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The attacks forced all three centers offline and triggered outages across banking, payments, delivery apps, and enterprise software throughout the region. — Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 7 July 2026

The Wall Street Journal highlighted warnings from steel industry executives that production outages could become more likely if local power grids are overwhelmed by demand. — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 7 July 2026

The large outage is affecting more than 27,000 customers along the Interstate 70 corridor, including in Vail, Avon, Eagle and Gypsum, according to the cooperative’s outage map. — Katie Langford, Denver Post, 7 July 2026

The powerful winds are capable of causing catastrophic damage to structures while downing trees and power lines, and producing prolonged power outages. — Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 6 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined at sense 1