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• fade-out
  fade-out

  noun

  a gradual decrease in the visibility of a scene.
• fade out
  fade out

  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]

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

But that also marks a clear transformation in culinary programming from emphasizing the development of proficiency to encouraging consumption, and the fade-out of the shared cultural exploration Food Network once chaperoned.

From Salon • Jan. 30, 2026

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 • Sep. 23, 2022

For Scully, who died Tuesday at 94, there was never any fall from grace, never any fade-out into some new technology.

From Washington Post • Aug. 3, 2022

I’m sad to say this might have been an old-fashioned friend fade-out.

From Slate • Jun. 10, 2021

She continued her fade-out, and the last thing to go was her widening grin.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

Related Words

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