blackout

1 of 2

noun

black·​out ˈblak-ˌau̇t How to pronounce blackout (audio)
1
a
: a turning off of the stage lighting to separate scenes in a play or end a play or skit
also : a skit that ends with a blackout
b
: a period of darkness enforced as a precaution against air raids
c
: a period of darkness (as in a city) caused by a failure of electrical power
2
: a transient dulling or loss of vision, consciousness, or memory
an alcoholic blackout
3
a
: a wiping out : obliteration
b
: a blotting out by censorship : suppression
a news blackout
4
: a usually temporary loss of a radio signal
5
: the prohibition or restriction of the telecasting of a sports event
6
: a time during which a special commercial offer (as of tickets) is not valid
usually used attributively
blackout dates

black out

2 of 2

verb

blacked out; blacking out; blacks out

transitive verb

1
a
: blot out, erase
blacked out the event from his mind
b
: to suppress by censorship
black out the news
2
: to envelop in darkness
black out the stage
3
: to make inoperative (as by a power failure)
4
: to impose a blackout on
blacked out the local game

intransitive verb

1
: to become enveloped in darkness
2
: to undergo a temporary loss of vision, consciousness, or memory

Examples of blackout in a Sentence

Noun the blackouts of World War II She keeps flashlights and candles handy in case of a blackout. He told his doctor he had been experiencing blackouts. Verb had spent most of her adulthood trying to black out memories of a wretched childhood with the delivery of the knockout punch, the screen blacks out, and in the next scene the boxer wakes up in the hospital
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
There aren’t any blackout dates or routes that are excluded from this sale, so now’s the time to book a last-minute spring break vacation or Memorial Day weekend trip. Stella Shon, Travel + Leisure, 11 Mar. 2024 The drug can cause blackouts, memory loss and respiratory arrest. Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2024 Litchi went to work, experimenting with a routine during a rolling blackout in Johannesburg. Cat Cardenas, Vogue, 7 Mar. 2024 Over the past six seasons, Bassett’s Los Angeles Police Department field sergeant Athena Grant has weathered an absolutely staggering number of calamities including, but by no means limited to: a tsunami, a citywide blackout, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake, and, yes, a blimp crash. Patrick Gomez, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2024 However, Local Pass holders must adhere to a list of blackout dates around peak holidays such as Christmas and New Year's. Hannah Towey, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Mar. 2024 While there hasn’t been a widespread blackout, to many Texans these alerts are evidence of continuing grid frailty. Henry Gass, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2024 But data centers need to cooperate with utilities and grid operators because big swings in demand can throw electric systems into disarray, boosting the odds of blackouts. Naureen S. Malik, Fortune, 25 Feb. 2024 These attacks are in addition to the blackouts caused by Russia’s military intelligence hacking unit known as Sandworm. Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 2 Mar. 2024
Verb
Commissioner Larry Scott, who tried to play tough guy with DirecTV and many other satellite and cable systems, so millions of possible viewers were blacked out to this very day. Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024 As the stream happened, Swifties noticed that the official Taylor Swift webstore was blacked out. Ashley Iasimone, Billboard, 2 Mar. 2024 In addition, travel to international destinations, Hawaii, and San Juan is blacked out on March 26 and March 27 for outgoing trips, and blacked out from March 26 to April 3 for incoming trips. Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 13 Mar. 2024 His video monitor had gone blurry at first, the landscape of shattered trees and shell craters barely visible, before blacking out completely. Yurii Shyvala, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024 Nex said the girls started beating Nex and then Nex blacked out. Jo Yurcaba, NBC News, 26 Feb. 2024 On February 7, during an altercation with three other students in the bathroom, Benedict reportedly blacked out while they were beaten on the bathroom floor. Danielle Marie Holland, Parents, 28 Feb. 2024 Then in September 2019, Popham went on a bike ride, got lost and blacked out. Amy Woodyatt, CNN, 5 Feb. 2024 The non-sellout meant that, per NFL rules at the time, the game was blacked out on Baltimore television. Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 27 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'blackout.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1913, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1824, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of blackout was in 1824

Dictionary Entries Near blackout

black out

blackout

black ox

Cite this Entry

“Blackout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blackout. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

blackout

noun
black·​out ˈblak-ˌau̇t How to pronounce blackout (audio)
1
: a period when lights are kept off to guard against enemy airplane attack in a war
2
: a period when lights are off as a result of an electrical power failure
3
: a temporary dulling or loss of vision or consciousness
black out
-ˈau̇t
verb

Medical Definition

blackout

1 of 2 noun
black·​out ˈblak-ˌau̇t How to pronounce blackout (audio)
: a transient dulling or loss of vision, consciousness, or memory
an alcoholic blackout
compare grayout, redout

black out

2 of 2 intransitive verb
: to undergo a temporary loss of vision, consciousness, or memory (as from temporary impairment of cerebral circulation, retinal anoxia, a traumatic emotional blow, or an alcoholic binge) compare gray out, red out

transitive verb

: to cause to black out

More from Merriam-Webster on blackout

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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