blackout

American  

[blak-out] / ˈblækˌaʊt /

noun

• blackouts
  plural

1. the extinguishing or concealment of all visible lights in a city, military post, etc., usually as a precaution against air raids.

2. a period during a massive power failure when the lack of electricity for illumination results in utter darkness except from emergency sources, as candles.

3. Theater.

   1. the extinguishing of all stage lights, as in closing a vaudeville skit or separating the scenes of a play.

   2. Also called blackout skit.  a skit ending in a blackout.

4. Pathology.

   1. temporary loss of consciousness or vision.

      She suffered a blackout from the blow on the head.

   2. a period of total memory loss, as one induced by an accident or prolonged alcoholic drinking.

      The patient cannot account for the bizarre things he did during his blackout.

5. a brief, passing lapse of memory.

   An actor may have an occasional blackout and forget a line or two.

6. complete stoppage of a communications medium, as by a strike, catastrophe, electrical storm, etc.: a radio blackout.

   a newspaper blackout;

   a radio blackout.

7. a stoppage, suppression, or obliteration.

   a news blackout.

8. a period during which a special sales offer, fare rate, or other bargain is not available.

   The airline's discount on fares does not apply during the Christmas week blackout.

9. Radio and Television. a prohibition that is imposed on the broadcasting of an event and has the purpose of encouraging or ensuring ticket sales.

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blackout British  

/ ˈblækaʊt /

noun

1. the extinguishing or hiding of all artificial light, esp in a city visible to an enemy attack from the air

2. a momentary loss of consciousness, vision, or memory

3. a temporary electrical power failure or cut

4. electronics a temporary loss of sensitivity in a valve following a short strong pulse

5. a temporary loss of radio communications between a spacecraft and earth, esp on re-entry into the earth's atmosphere

6. the suspension of radio or television broadcasting, as by a strike or for political reasons

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verb

1. (tr) to obliterate or extinguish (lights)

2. (tr) to create a blackout in (a city etc)

3. (intr) to lose vision, consciousness, or memory temporarily

4. (tr, adverb) to stop (news, a television programme) from being released or broadcast

blackout Cultural  

1. The complete loss of electrical power in a particular area. Blackouts can result from a natural disaster, a manmade catastrophe, or simply from an excess of energy demand over supply. (Compare brownout.)

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Discover More

Rolling blackouts to match supply and demand have become increasingly common in the United States.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• blackouts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of blackout

First recorded in 1910–15; noun use of verb phrase black out

Explanation

A blackout is a sudden loss of electricity in a town or city. If you experience a blackout, it's helpful to have flashlights and candles handy. During a war or an energy crisis, a city may impose a blackout on its citizens, requiring them to turn off all lights and, during bombing raids, to cover windows and limit activity. There is also a figurative kind of blackout, when a government suppresses information deliberately, not allowing newspapers and TV stations to report what's really happening. Someone who faints or passes out experiences yet another kind of blackout, a loss of consciousness.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blackout blackouts

Cable architecture allows traffic to be rerouted, so a cut would not cause a total blackout.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

Rubner, meanwhile, took note of the lull in the earnings-report calendar, the typically restrained activity by retail investors during September and the pre-earnings blackout period that will block corporate share buybacks.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

Managers are expecting a work blackout in November when employees who’ve waited 13 years for a new “Grand Theft Auto” installment take an unofficial holiday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

Finn pointed to instances of autonomous vehicles blocking first responders and a blackout in San Francisco last year that caused Waymo taxis to stall and get stuck in the road.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026

I’m already half praying for a blackout and half smiling because this will be one for the books.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

The tiny West African country has endured persistent blackouts since June, with outages becoming longer and more frequent during the current hot season as soaring temperatures drive up electricity demand.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

People have developed workarounds, like using car batteries to provide emergency power during blackouts, Yang said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

But the situation has significantly worsened, with blackouts lasting as long as 30 hours in Havana and even days on end in other provinces.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

The fees were so steep that other pay-TV providers, including Cox, Dish Network and, for many years, DirecTV, refused to carry the Dodgers channel — leading to one of the longest blackouts in sports TV.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Mervin Smith was upbeat and chatty He talked, as he drove, about how hot it was, how rolling blackouts were sure to come.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Related Words

• collapse