1A period when all lights must be turned out or covered to prevent them being seen by the enemy during an air raid.

1. 1.1usually blackoutsBritish Dark curtains put up in windows to cover lights during an air raid.
2. 1.2 A failure of an electrical power supply.
   due to a power blackout their hotel was in total darkness

   Example sentencesExamples

   • California dramatically reduced power consumption over just a few weeks and prevented rolling blackouts and the economic disruption they would have entailed.
   • In the past, monopoly providers worked together to prevent local or regional blackouts.
   • I like taking part in something that is here and now, like when we covered the blackout this past summer.
   • As soon as the blackout hit, it started dumping waste directly into the East River and continued doing so for the next 29 hours.
   • The island was plunged into a power blackout as electricity pylons and light poles crashed to the ground and telephone lines were ripped out.
   • Last weekend was the first anniversary of the big blackout that shut down large parts of northeastern North America last summer.
   • But whether those steps will be enough to prevent blackouts is impossible to tell.
   • The power corporation instituted rotating blackouts for periods in the community while the power plant was being repaired.
   • Well, the lights are back on in Detroit now after a partial blackout that shut down a major border crossing.
   • In some states, we face the possibility of brownouts or blackouts in peak load periods.
   • On a dilapidated black-and-white television sits an old kerosene lamp which he lights when a blackout plunges him into darkness.
   • After the 1965 blackout, which covered much of the same territory as the August 2003 event, steps were taken to prevent a recurrence of the problem.
   • Since no electric power plants have been built in the past 10 years, he must endure rolling blackouts at least once a week.
   • When the city suffered blackouts after power failures in 1998, his emergency response team provided the generators to keep the city functioning.
   • She becomes the victim of the Glue Man, a mysterious prankster who uses the cover of a blackout to put glue in girls' hair.
   • Estimates of the economic costs of the blackout reach upwards of $5 billion.
   • The remaining 15 were used by 9 p.m. that evening long before the blackout ended.
   • But in a country where electricity is in short supply and power blackouts are common, the frost-free and energy-efficient technology can be a major handicap.
   • A grid spokeswoman says there is little danger of blackouts, but power supplies are tight.
   • Dramatic cuts in the workforce result in cuts to maintenance crews and accidents, and equipment-related blackouts increase.

   Synonyms

   power cut, power failure, electricity failure

   trip, blown fuse

   brown-out
3. 1.3 A moment in the theatre when the lights on stage are suddenly dimmed.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Where Mamet's play features blackouts, the film substitutes long, synthesized soft-rock montages.
   • The frequency of entries, exits and prolonged blackouts during scene changes detracts from the performances.
   • The production looks chic in her design, but it is clumsy, with long blackouts after each scene, and lazily paced.
   • A theater on the 2nd and 3rd floors will have back and side walls of glass allowing a backdrop of a clear view of the harbor or controlled filtering down to complete blackout.
4. 1.4 A suppression of information, especially one imposed on the media by government.
   the total information blackout on the series of meetings

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The government, however, maintains tough media censorship including a virtual blackout on military operations.
   • The government has imposed a censorship blackout on the media and no journalists are permitted in the war zone.
   • Erroneous public perception of a massive cost-overrun was never addressed and as the project advanced, a publicity blackout added commensurate mystery.
   • Due to a press blackout imposed by both sides in the dispute, no details have been released as to what contractual disagreements caused the breakdown in the negotiations.
   • They had imposed a strict blackout on media coverage of the coffins returning to Dover, claiming that it is was meant to protect the privacy of the slain soldiers' families.
   • Sorry to tease but I can't give any more details at the moment as there's a news blackout.
   • News organisations do occasionally agree to news blackouts if they are advised that this will help to secure the safety of hostages.
   • Despite a media blackout on the province, reports continued to filter out of extra judicial murders, arbitrary arrest and torture.
   • I know you will have a big problem with the media blackout on your campaign, but it is important for you to soldier on.
   • The main media outlets have imposed their own, more far-reaching blackout on the case, despite its implications for civil liberties and free speech.
   • I'm unsure of the media blackout at the moment, I have seen both conflicting screens of the game, some look awesome - some look drab.
   • ‘There is an information blackout on the case,’ she said.
   • Authorities have arrested high-profile editors, closed publications, and imposed news blackouts on politically sensitive events.
   • The country's dictators remain so terrified of the lure of democracy and its defenders that they ordered a total blackout on the news.
   • More and more governments are tightening controls on media freedom and information blackouts.
   • An information blackout imposed on the government's actions was indicative of a disturbed conscience.
   • Because the government and the media have imposed a blackout on the protest, it is not known how many are still refusing food and water.
   • During the first Persian Gulf War, there was a media blackout from the moment the ground war began.
   • Any such action would probably involve a TV blackout, but the matches themselves are likely to still take place.

   Synonyms

   suppression, silence, censorship, reporting restrictions, cut-off

2A temporary loss of consciousness.