blackout
pronunciation
How to pronounce blackout in British English:
UK [ˈblækaʊt]
How to pronounce blackout in American English:
US [ˈblækaʊt]
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- Noun:
- a suspension of radio or tv broadcasting
- darkness resulting from the extinction of lights (as in a city invisible to enemy aircraft)
- the failure of electric power for a general region
- a momentary loss of consciousness
- partial or total loss of memory
Word Origin
- blackout (n.)
- also black-out, 1908 in the theatrical sense of a darkened stage, from black + out. Figurative sense of "loss of memory" is 1934 (verb and noun); as a dousing of lights as an air raid precaution, it is recorded from 1935. Verbal phrase black out, in reference to printed or written matter deemed objectionable and covered in black ink, is attested from 1888.
Example
- 1. India 's great blackout is a consequence of rotten governance .
- 2. Organizers estimate over 1 billion people take part in the global blackout .
- 3. The report said most transformers would stay online , so a blackout would likely last only hours or days .
- 4. Power was restored within a few hours , but the blackout was a worrying foretaste of what may be to come .
- 5. Today 's blackout followed another large outage yesterday , which affected 350 million people .