Navigation
Home
Resources
Irregular verbs quizzes English conjugator English-French dictionary French dictionary English dictionary Monolingual dictionaries Scores by institution Free sample tests FAQ Pricing Tourism training Blog Videos
Login Sign up
Blog
Videos
Pricing
FR EN

lights out

adj, noun — 7 senses

lights-out

adjalso spelled lights-out

/ˈlaɪts.aʊt/

1

Business, Manufacturing Done or performed in the dark because of a fully automated working environment. Often describes night shift or third shift work.

  • lights-out manufacturing
  • lights-out production
1 more example
  • Their night shift is lights-out production. Their day shift handles tooling, setup, and staging to make sure that everything is ready for the next lights-out run.
Related terms
dark factory, out like a light, put someone's light out

lights out

noun
1

Alternative Alternative form of lights-out.

2

Idiomatic Unconsciousness.

  • There had been one almighty BANG and then it had been lights out.2007, Kathryn Deans, Glow:
  • It's lights out as Bruno is whacked on the back of his head with a black jack.2012, Anthony C. TriparI, Butchie, page 112:
1 more example
  • Instant nausea, impaired vision, and the feeling of impending death, all prior to lights out.2012, Jeni Decker, I Wish I Were Engulfed in Flames:

lights-out

noun
1

The time at night at which artificial lights are to be turned off, a curfew or bedtime.

2

The prescribed bedtime for persons living in a boarding school or staying in a hospital.

  • We were all expected to be in bed by lights-out.
3

Euphemistic, Idiomatic Something hopeless, over; unconsciousness.

  • It's gonna be lights out for you, pal!
  • Hardy landed a picture perfect right uppercut square on Padilla's jaw. It was lights out for the formerly undefeated pugilist.1990 Feb, “Sparring in the Financial Markets”, in Black Enterprise, volume 20, number 7, page 162:
1 more example
  • Then, come November, the hunters are sitting there waiting for the unsuspecting gullible deer, and then it's lights out for the deer.2010, “A Memo from the devil”, in Catholic Bible 101, archived from the original on 31 Jan 2010:
4

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports Idiomatic A decisive play.

  • No one could really stop him in the second half and he was lights-out in OHL playoffs.2017 July 17, Mike G. Morreale, “'Super Buddies' McLeod, Bastian look to make mark with Devils”, in NHL.com:
Related terms
curfew

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for lights-out and lights out.