dim-out
Americannoun
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a reduction or concealment of night lighting in wartime to make the source less visible to an enemy from the air or sea.
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a reduction of night lighting caused by a failure in an electric generating system or a reduction in its output.
Etymology
Origin of dim-out
First recorded in 1940–45; dim + (black)out
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.
Along the shore no lights were showing for the dim-out was rigidly enforced at Sunset Beach.
From Project Gutenberg
Ann dialed a small wrist radio; in a few moments, out of the dark sky, the dim-out lights of a small 'copter came into view, and the machine settled delicately to the road.
From Project Gutenberg
Tramping down the ravine toward the huge house, he saw it was dark; down by the gate he could see the Security Guard, standing in a haze of blue cigarette smoke under the dim-out lights.
From Project Gutenberg
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.