blackout

Noun

blackout (countable and uncountable, plural blackouts)

1. A temporary loss of consciousness.

   Synonyms:

   blankout, faint, syncope

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....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

   Synonyms:

   blankout

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

   Synonyms:

   power cut, outage

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
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...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...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. (attributive) The blocking out of as much light as possible.
   • blackout blinds; blackout curtains
8. (rare, slang) A mass murder committed, usually in an urban area, to eliminate potential witnesses of a previous crime.