brown-out
brown-out is the alternative form of brownout.
Meaning of brownout
Noun
brownout (plural brownouts)
- A period of low alternating current line voltage, causing a reduction in illumination.
- When demand for electricity exceeds the available supply, a brownout occurs.
- Synonyms:
- dimout
- A temporary dimming of vision, usually with a brown hue and accompanied by loss of peripheral vision or tunnel vision.
- On rising suddenly from her chair she experienced a brownout and had to sit down again quickly.
- A temporary closing of a fire station, usually due to budget restrictions.
- Fire departments across the country have been forced to rely on rolling brownouts because of the recession.
- A power outage during the day; distinguished from a blackout, which occurs at night.
- A moment or period where something is weakened, diminished or less effective.
- A blackout, regardless of time of day.
- Remember that you can't send or receive a fax if there is a brownout. ... Due to blackouts (the Philippine term is brownout), especially during the dry season, be prepared with a flashlight and don't forget to save your data in your PC.1991, Philippine Smile
Forms of brown-out
| plural | brown-outs |
|---|
Origin of brown-out
Deverbal from brown out.
Questions about brown-out
- What is brown-out the alternative form of?
- Brown-out is the alternative form of brownout.
Words near brown-out in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: brown-out (page history and authors); brownout (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “brown-out.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/brown-out. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.