outage

noun

out·​age ˈau̇-tij How to pronounce outage (audio)
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 Earlier this year, AT&T faced a massive outage impacting customers across the country in cities like Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles. Kate Irwin, PCMAG, 5 June 2024 The February outage temporarily affected 911 services in several states. Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 4 June 2024 The city has not elaborated on what caused the outage. Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 3 June 2024 The idea is that many homes taking a small action adds up to a big impact on the grid, smoothing out demand peaks and preempting a power outage. Justine Calma, The Verge, 30 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for outage 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'outage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of outage was in 1851

Dictionary Entries Near outage

Cite this Entry

“Outage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outage. Accessed 15 Jun. 2024.

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