black out
Idioms-
Obliterate with black, as in crossing out words on a page or print on a screen. For example, They have blacked out all the obscene words in the subtitles to make this movie suitable for youngsters . This usage may be derived from an earlier meaning, “to stain or defame,” which dates from the 15th century (and probably alludes to “blackening” a person's reputation). [Mid-1800s]
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Extinguish all lights. For example, The whole town was asleep, as blacked out as London during the war . In the early 1900s this expression alluded to the lights in a theater, but from about 1940 on it meant darkening an entire city to hide it from enemy bombers.
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Lose consciousness, faint; also, experience a temporary loss of memory. For example, I couldn't remember a single note of the music; I blacked out completely , or The accused man claims he blacked out after his first drink . This usage is thought to have originated with pilots, who sometimes fainted briefly when pulling out of a power dive. It soon was transferred to other losses of consciousness or memory. [c. 1940]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“They can’t black out the whole country,” Kolisnyk said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025
Korkosz, who drove for a Polish haulage company, didn't realise his camera recorded sound, but still insisted it should have captured the violent coughing which made him "black out" and become disoriented.
From BBC • Nov. 4, 2025
Not because I black out and instantly transform into an immature child anytime a person starts talking about feces, but apples.
From Salon • Apr. 11, 2024
As early as 2021, they began to black out documents in response to public-records requests, asserting they have a “legislative privilege” to keep a swath of their internal communications secret.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 1, 2024
Defense leaders, taking the attitude that “anything can happen,” warned islanders to be on the alert to black out electric lights on extremely short notice.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
