blackout
nounUS /ˈblæk.aʊt/ · /ˈblæk.ʌʊt/
Etymology Deverbal from black out.
8 senses
- 1A temporary loss of consciousness.
- 2A temporary loss of memory.
- 3A large-scale power failure, and resulting loss of…
- 4An instance of censorship, especially a temporary one.
- 5An intentional outage of a website or other online…
- 6The mandatory blocking of all light emanating from…
- 7The blocking out of as much light as possible.
- 8A mass murder committed, usually in an urban area, to…
1
A temporary loss of consciousness.
2
A temporary loss of memory.
- “I mean, what is she even talking about? Got her pregnant at the Halloween party? What does that mean? I don't even remember that party. I was wasted.” “Yeah, me too. I browned out that evening.” “"browned out"? What's "browned out"?” “Oh, it's when you drink so much that everything goes brown. It's not as severe as a blackout, 'cause I remember bits and pieces. I like to call it "browning out."”2010 October 28, Charlie Day & Rob McElhenney, “Who Got Dee Pregnant?” (2:13 from the start), in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, season 6, episode 7:
3
A large-scale power failure, and resulting loss of electricity to consumers.
- The repairs at the Koeberg Power Station in the Western Cape were on schedule for completion in the third week of May. This follows huge blackouts related to the problems at the power supplier since November.2006 May 13, Weekend Argus, page 5:
- There have been several examples of space weather affecting power grids in the last few decades, notably blackouts caused by GICs [geomagnetically induced currents] in Canada in 1989 and Sweden in 2003.2023 November 15, Prof. Jim Wild, “This train was delayed because of bad weather in space”, in RAIL, number 996, page 30:
4
An instance of censorship, especially a temporary one.
- media blackout
- According to a press release issued by the clinic staff, a blackout by the local press had kept the public uninformed about the clinic's harassment.1983 December 17, “Defending The Right To Choose”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 22, page 2:
1 more example
- The protests have alarmed authorities, and on Thursday night, they shut off internet and mobile access in the country, cutting the Iranian people off from the rest of the world. Rights groups have accused the government of exploiting the media blackout to carry out a brutal crackdown against protesters.2026 January 13, Deepa Parent, William Christou, “Hundreds of gunshot eye injuries found in one Iranian hospital amid brutal crackdown on protests”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 24 Jan 2026:
5
Internet An intentional outage of a website or other online service, typically as a form of protest.
- the 2012 English Wikipedia blackout
- A group of Redditors, many of whom are moderators, organized a temporary boycott, with participating subreddits going private or restricted for 48 hours starting on Monday. A Twitch stream tracking the blackout claimed that nearly 8,500 subreddits, some with tens of millions of subscribers, had gone dark by Tuesday afternoon.2023 June 14, Sara Morrison, “The ongoing Reddit Blackout, explained”, in Vox, archived from the original on 30 Mar 2024:
6
Historical The mandatory blocking of all light emanating from buildings, as well as outdoor and street lighting as a measure against aerial bombing or naval attack, as imposed during, e.g., World War II.
- In co-operation with the Government departments, the British railway companies prepared their stations, offices, docks, hotels, trains, and other premises for the necessary blackout of lighting that it was realised would be required in a state of emergency, and in the case of the experimental voluntary blackouts which took place in July and August the railway companies concerned co-operated in every way possible.1939 November, Charles E. Lee, “Railways and the War — I”, in Railway Magazine, page 317:
- During the "blackout", many real cars and lorries had their front wings painted white, in order to avoid accidents.1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 88:
7
The blocking out of as much light as possible.
- blackout blinds; blackout curtains
8
Criminology, Human sciences, Law, Sciences Rare, Slang A mass murder committed, usually in an urban area, to eliminate potential witnesses of a previous crime.
- Derived terms
- blackout bag, blackout bomb, blackout cake, blackout curtain, blackout date, blackout gag, blackout lamp, blackout poem, blackout poetry, blackouts, blackout skit, Brooklyn blackout cake, brownout, brown out, rolling blackout
- Related terms
- whiteout