Blackout \'blak-"aut\, n. [1913]

1. turning off of the stage lighting to separate scenes in a play or end a play or skit; also : a skit that ends with a blackout
2. a period of darkness enforced as a precaution against air raids
3. a period of darkness (as in a city) caused by a failure of electrical power
4. a transient dulling or loss of vision, consciousness, or memory (an alcoholic blackout)
5. a wiping out [syn: obliteration ]
6. a blotting out by censorship [syn: suppression] (a news blackout)
7. a usually temporary loss of a radio signal
8. the prohibition or restriction of the telecasting of a sports event