white out

British  

verb

1. (intr) to lose or lack daylight visibility owing to snow or fog

2. (tr) to create or leave white spaces in (printed or other matter)

3. (tr) to delete (typewritten words or characters) with a white correcting fluid

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noun

1. an atmospheric condition consisting of loss of visibility and sense of distance and direction due to a uniform whiteness of a heavy cloud cover and snow-covered ground, which reflects almost all the light it receives

Example Sentences

Moving slowly and dinging our bells to prevent collisions, the spectral silhouette of the temple appeared like Brigadoon, and we sought refuge next to an ethereal flautist to wait out the white out.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 10, 2023

STS causes the part of your brain that sympathizes with the misfortunes of others, if overexposed, to white out.

From Salon • Jan. 23, 2022

In a flash of white out of the blue, a beluga whale has been seen at least six times around Puget Sound since Sunday, the first such sightings since 1940.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 6, 2021

She asked officials to transfer Officer Calcaterra, who is white, out of her unit because she had concerns for her well-being and safety.

From New York Times • Nov. 24, 2019

Her classmates wrote with pencils, but there were no erasers—they used dried squid bone to white out their mistakes.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata