black·out
ˈblak-ˌau̇t 
1
a
: a turning off of the stage lighting to separate scenes in a play or end a play or skit
also
: a skit that ends with a blackout
b
: a period of darkness enforced as a precaution against air raids
c
: a period of darkness (as in a city) caused by a failure of electrical power
2
: a transient dulling or loss of vision, consciousness, or memory
an alcoholic blackout
3
a
: a wiping out : obliteration
b
: a blotting out by censorship : suppression
a news blackout
4
: a usually temporary loss of a radio signal
5
: the prohibition or restriction of the telecasting of a sports event
6
: a time during which a special commercial offer (as of tickets) is not valid
—usually used attributively
blackout dates
blacked out; blacking out; blacks out
1
2
: to envelop in darkness
black out the stage
3
: to make inoperative (as by a power failure)
4
: to impose a blackout on
blacked out the local game
1
: to become enveloped in darkness
2
: to undergo a temporary loss of vision, consciousness, or memory
Synonyms
Examples of blackout in a Sentence
Noun
the blackouts of World War II
She keeps flashlights and candles handy in case of a blackout.
He told his doctor he had been experiencing blackouts.
Verb
had spent most of her adulthood trying to black out memories of a wretched childhood
with the delivery of the knockout punch, the screen blacks out, and in the next scene the boxer wakes up in the hospital
Recent Examples on the Web
TIME, 18 Apr. 2024
Limits: Programming subject to blackout restrictions.
—Anna Tingley, Variety, 18 Apr. 2024
Nationwide, numerous libraries have scheduled listening parties for the new album that will also feature blackout poetry.
—Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Apr. 2024
Sandworm also carried out a third blackout attack in 2022, this time in concert with a missile strike on the same area.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 17 Apr. 2024
In 2021, Iran blamed Israel for an electrical blackout that left some older centrifuges damaged.
—Sammy Westfall, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
With their blackout curtains drawn firmly against the probing eyes of not only Nazi bombers but also administrative officials on the hunt for rebellious scientists, Haldane and Spurway began to recruit others who had stayed behind.
—Rachel Lance, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
And what about those low-wind, cloudy days when wind turbines and solar panels aren’t enough to avoid blackouts?
Carl Borgquist has a plan for that.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
But a particular focus has been Kharkiv, forcing rolling blackouts and raising the prospect that Ukraine’s second-largest city could soon become the Kremlin’s primary target.
—Daryna Mayer, NBC News, 12 Apr. 2024
USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
The affidavits released to the public were redacted so some details, mostly names, have been blacked out.
—Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 21 Feb. 2024
Digital streaming viewers often use this VPN masking technology to access shows restricted in certain markets and blacked out sports events.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 3 Apr. 2024
In response to a FOIA request by Capital & Main on these questions, the FBI sent a CD containing over 1,100 pages of documents largely dated in the late 2000s, of which almost 1,000 pages were deleted, and many of those that remained were duplicated or blacked out.
—Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2024
Benedict said the girls pounced and were beating them up when Benedict blacked out.
—USA TODAY, 2 Mar. 2024
Power plants across the eastern U.S. throttled back, blacking out homes in multiple states.
—Tom Winter, NBC News, 4 Feb. 2024
Commissioner Larry Scott, who tried to play tough guy with DirecTV and many other satellite and cable systems, so millions of possible viewers were blacked out to this very day.
—Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024
As the stream happened, Swifties noticed that the official Taylor Swift webstore was blacked out.
—Ashley Iasimone, Billboard, 2 Mar. 2024
Noun
In Bogota, capital of neighboring Colombia, water is being rationed, and the country has stopped exporting electricity to Ecuador as a measure to avoid blackouts of its own.
—TIME, 18 Apr. 2024
Limits: Programming subject to blackout restrictions.
—Anna Tingley, Variety, 18 Apr. 2024
Nationwide, numerous libraries have scheduled listening parties for the new album that will also feature blackout poetry.
—Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Apr. 2024
Sandworm also carried out a third blackout attack in 2022, this time in concert with a missile strike on the same area.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 17 Apr. 2024
In 2021, Iran blamed Israel for an electrical blackout that left some older centrifuges damaged.
—Sammy Westfall, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
With their blackout curtains drawn firmly against the probing eyes of not only Nazi bombers but also administrative officials on the hunt for rebellious scientists, Haldane and Spurway began to recruit others who had stayed behind.
—Rachel Lance, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
And what about those low-wind, cloudy days when wind turbines and solar panels aren’t enough to avoid blackouts?
Carl Borgquist has a plan for that.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
But a particular focus has been Kharkiv, forcing rolling blackouts and raising the prospect that Ukraine’s second-largest city could soon become the Kremlin’s primary target.
—Daryna Mayer, NBC News, 12 Apr. 2024
Verb
In new documents, prosecutors allege Eric took a bite of a sandwich left in his truck along with a note on that day, only to end up breaking out in hives and blacking out.
—USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
The affidavits released to the public were redacted so some details, mostly names, have been blacked out.
—Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 21 Feb. 2024
Digital streaming viewers often use this VPN masking technology to access shows restricted in certain markets and blacked out sports events.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 3 Apr. 2024
In response to a FOIA request by Capital & Main on these questions, the FBI sent a CD containing over 1,100 pages of documents largely dated in the late 2000s, of which almost 1,000 pages were deleted, and many of those that remained were duplicated or blacked out.
—Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2024
Benedict said the girls pounced and were beating them up when Benedict blacked out.
—USA TODAY, 2 Mar. 2024
Power plants across the eastern U.S. throttled back, blacking out homes in multiple states.
—Tom Winter, NBC News, 4 Feb. 2024
Commissioner Larry Scott, who tried to play tough guy with DirecTV and many other satellite and cable systems, so millions of possible viewers were blacked out to this very day.
—Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024
As the stream happened, Swifties noticed that the official Taylor Swift webstore was blacked out.
—Ashley Iasimone, Billboard, 2 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'blackout.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near blackout
Cite this Entry
“Blackout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blackout. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
blackout
noun
black·out
ˈblak-ˌau̇t
1
: a period when lights are kept off to guard against enemy airplane attack in a war
2
: a period when lights are off as a result of an electrical power failure
3
: a temporary dulling or loss of vision or consciousness
black out
verb
-ˈau̇t
Medical Definition
blackout
1 of 2 noun
black·out
ˈblak-ˌau̇t
black out
2 of 2 intransitive verb
: to cause to black out
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