- blackout
- blackout lackout n.
1. a suspension of radio or tv broadcasting.
[WordNet 1.5]
2. any darkness resulting from the extinction of lights. [WordNet 1.5]
3. the failure of electric power for a general region sufficient to extinguish all normal lighting.
Syn: brownout, dimout. [WordNet 1.5]
4. a momentary loss of consciousness. [WordNet 1.5]
5. partial or total loss of memory. he has a total blackout for events of the evening
Syn: amnesia, memory loss. [WordNet 1.5]
6. a period during which artificial lighting is forbidden, as in a city as a precaution against an air raid. [PJC]
7. (Theater) the darkening of all stage lights, as at then end of a performance or between acts. [PJC]
8. suppression of information distribution; as, there was a blackout on news from the military for the first day of the Gulf War. [PJC]
9. the prohibition of the broadcasting of a sports event, such as a boxing match or football game, sometimes confined to one particular area. It is usually done to encourage sales of tickets to the event. [PJC]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.