BLACKOUT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does blackout mean? 

• BLACKOUT (noun)
  The noun BLACKOUT has 5 senses:

1. a suspension of radio or tv broadcasting

2. darkness resulting from the extinction of lights (as in a city invisible to enemy aircraft)

3. the failure of electric power for a general region

4. a momentary loss of consciousness

5. partial or total loss of memory

  Familiarity information: BLACKOUT used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BLACKOUT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A suspension of radio or tv broadcasting

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Hypernyms ("blackout" is a kind of...):

break; intermission; interruption; pause; suspension (a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something)

Derivation:

black out (suppress by censorship as for political reasons)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Darkness resulting from the extinction of lights (as in a city invisible to enemy aircraft)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

blackout; brownout; dimout

Hypernyms ("blackout" is a kind of...):

dark; darkness (absence of light or illumination)

Domain category:

aircraft (a vehicle that can fly)

Derivation:

black out (darken completely)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The failure of electric power for a general region

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("blackout" is a kind of...):

power failure; power outage (equipment failure resulting when the supply of power fails)

Derivation:

black out (darken completely)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A momentary loss of consciousness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("blackout" is a kind of...):

unconsciousness (a state lacking normal awareness of the self or environment)

Derivation:

black out (lose consciousness due to a sudden trauma, for example)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Partial or total loss of memory

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

amnesia; blackout; memory loss

Context example:

he has a total blackout for events of the evening

Hypernyms ("blackout" is a kind of...):

cognitive state; state of mind (the state of a person's cognitive processes)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "blackout"):

anterograde amnesia; posttraumatic amnesia (loss of memory for events immediately following a trauma; sometimes in effect for events during and for a long time following the trauma)

retrograde amnesia (loss of memory for events immediately preceding a trauma)

forgetfulness (tendency to forget)

selective amnesia (amnesia about particular events that is very convenient for the person who cannot remember)

transient global amnesia (memory disorder seen in middle aged and elderly persons; characterized by an episode of amnesia and bewilderment that lasts for several hours; person is otherwise alert and intellectually active)

 Context examples 

Such radio blackouts are only ongoing during the course of a flare, and so they have since subsided.

(Solar Dynamics Observatory Captures Images of a Mid-Level Solar Flare, NASA)

Magnetic eruptions on the sun can impact air travel, disrupt satellite communications and bring down power grids, causing long-lasting blackouts and disabling technologies such as GPS.

(Newest solar telescope produces first images, National Science Foundation)

Making wastewater treatment plants energy independent would not only cut electricity use and emissions but also make them immune to blackouts — a major advantage in places such as California, where recent wildfires have led to large-scale outages.

(Researchers develop technology to harness energy from mixing of freshwater and seawater, National Science Foundation)

Moderate radio blackouts were observed during the peak of the flare.

(Solar Dynamics Observatory Captures Images of a Mid-Level Solar Flare, NASA)