fade-out

American  

[feyd-out] / ˈfeɪdˌaʊt /

noun

1. Movies, Television. a gradual decrease in the visibility of a scene.

2. Broadcasting, Recording. a gradual decrease in the volume of sound, especially of recorded or broadcast music, dialogue, or the like, usually ending in complete inaudibility.

3. a gradual disappearance or reduction.

   the fade-out of a brilliant career.

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fade-out British  

noun

1. films an optical effect in which a shot slowly disappears into darkness

2. a gradual reduction in signal strength in a radio or television broadcast

3. a gradual and temporary loss of a received radio or television signal due to atmospheric disturbances, magnetic storms, etc

4. a slow or gradual disappearance

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verb

1. to decrease or cause to decrease gradually, as vision or sound in a film or broadcast

fade out Idioms  

1. Gradually disappear or become inaudible; also, cause to disappear or become inaudible gradually. For example, He let the final chord fade out completely before he played the next movement . The antonym is fade in , “to appear gradually or become audible,” as in The images on the screen faded in until they could be seen clearly . These terms originated in the motion-picture and broadcasting industries, where they apply to images and sounds. [c. 1915]

2. Also, fade away . Quietly depart, as in “Florence Scape, Fanny Scape and their mother faded away to Boulogne” (William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair , 1848). [Mid-1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of fade-out

First recorded in 1915–20; noun use of verb phrase fade out

Example Sentences

As host of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” the comedian has been successful, receiving critical praise and leading the program to regularly becoming the top-rated late-night show, outpacing his younger rivals Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel — albeit against the backdrop of what Reuters termed “late-night TV’s fade-out.”

From Salon

“He mastered the close-up, the fade-out. No one ever called him David because everyone had the greatest respect for him. He was always Mr. Griffith.”

From Los Angeles Times

It seemed an appropriate sort of fade-out for the deluge of Friday.

From Washington Post

There is a sense of resignation or fade-out in the script’s formation, as if the word were not worth completing, the gods having long since departed.

From Washington Post

Just to keep things off- balance, every now and then the band adds an extra beat, while a long, gradual fade-out suggests she’s still a little reluctant to move on.

From New York Times

Related Words

• deteriorate
• disappear
• end
• expire
• fail
• fall
• pass
• stop
• vanish