blackout

American  

[blak-out] / ˈblækˌaʊt /

noun

blackouts plural

1. the extinguishing or concealment of all visible lights in a city, military post, etc., usually as a precaution against air raids.

2. a period during a massive power failure when the lack of electricity for illumination results in utter darkness except from emergency sources, as candles.

3. Theater.

   1. the extinguishing of all stage lights, as in closing a vaudeville skit or separating the scenes of a play.

   2. Also called blackout skit.  a skit ending in a blackout.

4. Pathology.

   1. temporary loss of consciousness or vision.

      She suffered a blackout from the blow on the head.

   2. a period of total memory loss, as one induced by an accident or prolonged alcoholic drinking.

      The patient cannot account for the bizarre things he did during his blackout.

5. a brief, passing lapse of memory.

   An actor may have an occasional blackout and forget a line or two.

6. complete stoppage of a communications medium, as by a strike, catastrophe, electrical storm, etc.: a radio blackout.

   a newspaper blackout;

   a radio blackout.

7. a stoppage, suppression, or obliteration.

   a news blackout.

8. a period during which a special sales offer, fare rate, or other bargain is not available.

   The airline's discount on fares does not apply during the Christmas week blackout.

9. Radio and Television. a prohibition that is imposed on the broadcasting of an event and has the purpose of encouraging or ensuring ticket sales.

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blackout British  

/ ˈblækaʊt /

noun

1. the extinguishing or hiding of all artificial light, esp in a city visible to an enemy attack from the air

2. a momentary loss of consciousness, vision, or memory

3. a temporary electrical power failure or cut

4. electronics a temporary loss of sensitivity in a valve following a short strong pulse

5. a temporary loss of radio communications between a spacecraft and earth, esp on re-entry into the earth's atmosphere

6. the suspension of radio or television broadcasting, as by a strike or for political reasons

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verb

1. (tr) to obliterate or extinguish (lights)

2. (tr) to create a blackout in (a city etc)

3. (intr) to lose vision, consciousness, or memory temporarily

4. (tr, adverb) to stop (news, a television programme) from being released or broadcast

blackout Cultural  

1. The complete loss of electrical power in a particular area. Blackouts can result from a natural disaster, a manmade catastrophe, or simply from an excess of energy demand over supply. (Compare brownout.)

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Discover More

Rolling blackouts to match supply and demand have become increasingly common in the United States.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• blackouts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of blackout

First recorded in 1910–15; noun use of verb phrase black out

Explanation

A blackout is a sudden loss of electricity in a town or city. If you experience a blackout, it's helpful to have flashlights and candles handy. During a war or an energy crisis, a city may impose a blackout on its citizens, requiring them to turn off all lights and, during bombing raids, to cover windows and limit activity. There is also a figurative kind of blackout, when a government suppresses information deliberately, not allowing newspapers and TV stations to report what's really happening. Someone who faints or passes out experiences yet another kind of blackout, a loss of consciousness.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blackout blackouts

What followed over the next several days was an almost total blackout of the president’s speech across Fox’s airwaves.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

That included selling at least $77 million in stock in total on July 21 and July 22, when Fiserv’s current executives were in a blackout period to ensure they weren’t trading on material nonpublic information.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

No amount of darkness, earplugs or blackout blinds can entirely silence it.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

Wegner on Friday admitted that his "communication" about the day had been "rubbish" but he defended the city's response to the blackout.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

I’d put the blackout screen up in the window and the bedroom was pitch-black when Hannie breezed in.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

The blackouts and power cuts have accelerated since the fuel blockade began, with authorities citing a lack of fuel to run the generators that prop up the national grid.

From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026

All obstacles we have described—from the opinion-release blackouts to the ongoing mysteries of judicial travel to the unsigned midnight orders on the shadow docket—are avoidable.

From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026

Self-healing grids: During heat waves, artificial intelligence would reroute power for maximum efficiency, eking out extra performance to avoid blackouts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Wednesday, causing widespread electrical blackouts and cutoffs of gas supplies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

In addition to the periodic glitches and blackouts, there were times when electronic computers would spit out answers so unexpected that it wasn’t clear if the machines were up to snuff.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Related Words

• collapse