black out

1. 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]

2. 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.

3. 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

With key data blacked out by the government shutdown, officials lacked the usual information that often reconciles differences.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In fact, all but about 200 of the pages are entirely blacked out.

Read more on Salon

Over the weekend she said she continued bleeding and suffering a lot of pain, even blacking out on her way to the bathroom at night.

Read more on BBC

"I just saw it bounce and disappear. I still can't believe it. I blacked out."

Read more on Barron's

Yet in recent months, the utility has heard a chorus of complaints from communities including Moorpark and Malibu that it is blacking out customers even when the winds are calm.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cross out 
• cut off 
• darken 
• erase 
• extinguish 
• faint 
• pass out