radio silence

[rey-dee-oh sahy-luhns]

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

• radio silent adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of radio silence¹

First recorded in 1920–25