radio silence
Americannoun
-
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.
-
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.
"It's just radio silence from the airport, apart from literally telling people 'we've got an issue'".
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
She spent the next few hours calling every number and email she had from the exchange but got radio silence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Neri and I usually text and talk all day, but with Brad Pitt there, it’s like radio silence from 10 in the morning to 10 at night; she doesn’t respond.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2025
The radio silence that accompanies re-entry went on far longer than normal.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2025
But the radio silence was aggressive and brought with it an edge of fear that Toby had to know Luke was feeling.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
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.
