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radio silence

American  
[rey-dee-oh sahy-luhns] / ˈreɪ diˌoʊ ˈsaɪ ləns /

noun

  1. a state or period of time in which radios are not transmitting signals: The week’s stormy weather has caused local radio silence.

    The planes were required to maintain radio silence until their mission was accomplished.

    The week’s stormy weather has caused local radio silence.

  2. a period of time in which a person or organization is not communicating as usual.

    Sorry for the radio silence, but from now on my blog posts will be more regular.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of radio silence

First recorded in 1920–25

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.

See Examples For:

“They are getting absolute radio silence and becoming increasingly desperate to stand out,” Ben Tobin, a career coach in Portland, Ore., said of the computer-science graduates he helps.

From The Wall Street Journal Oct. 26, 2025

Its normally active media arm went into radio silence.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 1, 2024

When I spoke with him again in October 2022, five months later, Slocum told me, “We continue to have radio silence from Chairman Behnam.”

From Salon May 28, 2024

But with this monster hack there was radio silence.

From BBC Mar. 25, 2024

The most respected men, in accordance with the ethos that had evolved on San Piedro, pursued no one and cultivated radio silence.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

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