blackout en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈblæk.ʌʊt/ Canadian raising
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈblæk.aʊt/ (US)
Etymology
Deverbal from black out.
Meanings
- (countable, uncountable) A temporary loss of consciousness.
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(countable, uncountable) 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:
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(countable, uncountable) A large-scale power failure, and resulting loss of electricity to consumers.
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: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:
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(countable, uncountable) An instance of censorship, especially a temporary one.
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:media blackout
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:
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(Internet, countable, uncountable) 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:
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(countable, historical, uncountable) 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.
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: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:
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(attributive, countable, uncountable) The blocking out of as much light as possible.
blackout blinds; blackout curtains
- (countable, rare, slang, uncountable) A mass murder committed, usually in an urban area, to eliminate potential witnesses of a previous crime.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| blackouts | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| black-out | alternative | lexicographic |
Coordinates
brownout · dimout · greyout · grayout
Deriveds
Brooklyn blackout cake · blackout bomb · blackout poetry · blackout gag · blackouts · blackout bag · blackout lamp · brown out · brownout · blackout cake · blackout skit · blackout poem · rolling blackout · blackout curtain · blackout date
Descendants
ブラックアウト · блэка́ут · блэка́ўт · black-out · blackout · blecaute · Blackout · blackout · блека́ут · בלקאאוט
Relateds
Synonyms
syncope · blankout · faint · outage · blankout · power cut
Translations (92)
es apagón (a temporary loss of memory) · ja ブラックアウト (a large-scale power failure) · cmn 暗轉 /暗转 (the mandatory blinding of all light) · fr blackout (a temporary loss of memory) · cs okno (a temporary loss of memory) · fi tajunnan menetys (translations to be checked) · fi pimentäminen (the mandatory blinding of all light) · sv mörkläggning (the mandatory blinding of all light) · ms putus bekalan (a large-scale power failure) · nl bewustzijnsverlies (a temporary loss of consciousness) · el σκοτοδίνη (a temporary loss of consciousness) · mi tuauriuri (a large-scale power failure) · fr trou de mémoire (a temporary loss of memory) · cmn 斷電 /断电 (a large-scale power failure) · vi mất điện (a large-scale power failure) · de Blackout (a temporary loss of memory) · ms hilang ingatan (translations to be checked) · fi sähkökatkos (a large-scale power failure) · th หน้ามืด (a temporary loss of consciousness) · sh nestanak struje velikih razmera (a temporary loss of memory) · sh smrknuće (a temporary loss of consciousness) · es desmayo (a temporary loss of consciousness) · ru систе́мная ава́рия (a large-scale power failure) · sv strömavbrott (a large-scale power failure) · ru светомаскиро́вка (the mandatory blinding of all light) · pl zanik pamięci (a temporary loss of memory) · sv avsvimning (a temporary loss of consciousness) · fi muistikatko (translations to be checked) · it lipotimia (a temporary loss of consciousness) · fr coupure de courant (a large-scale power failure) · fi pimennys (the mandatory blinding of all light) · ca desmai (a temporary loss of consciousness) · ca blanc for a temporary loss of memory (translations to be checked) · pt blecaute (the mandatory blinding of all light) · es apagón (a large-scale power failure) · ru затемне́ние (the mandatory blinding of all light) · uk блека́ут (a large-scale power failure) · vi cúp điện (a large-scale power failure) · el συσκότιση (a temporary loss of memory) · el διακοπή ηλεκτρικού ρεύματος (a large-scale power failure) · fi sähkökatko (a large-scale power failure) · th สลบ (a temporary loss of consciousness) · bg затъмне́ние (the mandatory blinding of all light) · ca apagada general (the mandatory blinding of all light) · ms pergelapan (the mandatory blinding of all light) · cs okno (translations to be checked) · pt desmaio (a temporary loss of consciousness) · nl zwart gat (a temporary loss of memory) · it blackout (a large-scale power failure) · cmn 停電 /停电 (a large-scale power failure) · de Blackout (a large-scale power failure) · fi muistikatko (a temporary loss of memory) · ja 停電 (a large-scale power failure) · de Erinnerungsverlust (a temporary loss of memory) · sv blackout (translations to be checked) · ca tall de corrent (the mandatory blinding of all light) · it oscuramento (the mandatory blinding of all light) · sh zamračenje (the mandatory blinding of all light) · el συσκότιση (the mandatory blinding of all light) · fr blackout (a temporary loss of consciousness) · de Stromausfall (a large-scale power failure) · th ไฟดับ (a large-scale power failure) · ms pitam (translations to be checked) · el απώλεια μνήμης (a temporary loss of memory) · th เป็นลม (a temporary loss of consciousness) · ru блэка́ут (a large-scale power failure) · it deliquio (a temporary loss of consciousness) · ca apagada (a large-scale power failure) · es corte (the mandatory blinding of all light) · ko 정전 (a large-scale power failure) · pt blecaute (a large-scale power failure) · ar غَشْيَة (a temporary loss of consciousness) · fr blackout (a large-scale power failure) · pt apagão (a large-scale power failure) · fr blackout (the mandatory blinding of all light) · nl geheugenverlies (a temporary loss of memory) · ar تَعْتِيم (the mandatory blinding of all light) · nl stroomstoring (a large-scale power failure) · el λιποθυμία (a temporary loss of consciousness) · pl zamroczenie (a temporary loss of consciousness) · ru зате́мнение созна́ния (a temporary loss of consciousness) · th หมดสติ (a temporary loss of consciousness) · sh pomračenje (a temporary loss of memory) · ca blanc (a temporary loss of memory) · it mancamento (a temporary loss of consciousness) · pt branca (a temporary loss of memory) · nl verduistering (the mandatory blinding of all light) · be блэка́ўт (a large-scale power failure) · it svenimento (a temporary loss of consciousness) · ru прова́л па́мяти (a temporary loss of memory) · de Filmriss (a temporary loss of memory) · nl geheugengat (a temporary loss of memory)