whiteout

[ hwahyt-out, wahyt- ]

/ ˈʰwaɪtˌaʊt, ˈwaɪt- /

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See synonyms for whiteout on Thesaurus.com

noun

Meteorology.

a condition, found in polar regions, in which uniform illumination from snow on the ground and from a low cloud layer makes features of the landscape indistinguishable.
a condition of heavily falling or blowing snow in which visibility is very poor.

an act or instance of whiting out with a correction fluid.

a white correction fluid used for this: a bottle of whiteout.

a mistake, as in typing, that has been whited out with a correction fluid.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of whiteout

1940–45; (defs. 2-4) noun use of verb phrase white out;(def. 1) white + (black)out

Words nearby whiteout

white night, White Nile, whitening, white noise, white oak, whiteout, white pages, white paper, White Pass, white people problem, white pepper

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use whiteout in a sentence

A warm, sunny day can quickly escalate into a freezing cold whiteout blizzard.
How to Check for Snow on the Trail|cobrien|February 27, 2022|Outside Online
Snowstorms in the Northeast often make travel dangerous, cause whiteouts, and create emergency blizzard conditions.
NASA’s storm-chasing planes fly through blizzards to improve snowfall forecasts|Lauren J. Young|February 3, 2022|Popular-Science
We moved the tent about 300 feet lower on the descent ridge, performing the operation in the whiteout.
A 237-Hour Nightmare: Inside this Terrifying, Frostbitten First Ascent of Nepal’s Baruntse|cobrien|January 30, 2022|Outside Online
This is likely to be an intense, dangerous storm with heavy snow, high winds, and whiteout conditions.
After uncertain forecasts, serious winter weather will slam the East Coast|Sara Kiley Watson|January 28, 2022|Popular-Science

Gusty winds will further reduce visibilities during this event with local whiteout conditions possible.
Drought-denting rains, feet of mountain snow to plaster West Coast|Matthew Cappucci|December 20, 2021|Washington Post
Driving from the Denver airport to Wyoming, I encountered an almost-otherworldly whiteout of a blizzard.
Native American Basketball Team in Wyoming Have Hoop Dreams Of Their Own|Robert Silverman|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT CONDITIONS...MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.
After the Blizzard, 100 Million People Will Be Hit With Freezing Air From the North Pole|Eric Holthaus|January 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For, at Penn State, the whitewash has replaced the whiteout, and the “Greatest Show” is nearing its end.
Penn State Goes Too Far in Its Purge of All Things Paterno|John Hendrickson|August 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The Commissioner and the Chief Inspector were at one in concluding that the crash has occurred in a whiteout.
Judgments of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand on Proceedings to Review Aspects of the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Mount Erebus Aircraft Disaster|Sir Owen Woodhouse, R. B. Cooke, Ivor L. M. Richardson, Duncan Wallace McMullin, and Sir Edward Somers
The term 'whiteout' has more than one meaning as being descriptive of weather conditions in snow-covered terrain.
Judgments of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand on Proceedings to Review Aspects of the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Mount Erebus Aircraft Disaster|Sir Owen Woodhouse, R. B. Cooke, Ivor L. M. Richardson, Duncan Wallace McMullin, and Sir Edward Somers
Flying in a 'whiteout' of that description is no different from flying in thick cloud.
Judgments of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand on Proceedings to Review Aspects of the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Mount Erebus Aircraft Disaster|Sir Owen Woodhouse, R. B. Cooke, Ivor L. M. Richardson, Duncan Wallace McMullin, and Sir Edward Somers

British Dictionary definitions for whiteout

white out

verb (adverb)

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

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

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

noun whiteout

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012