What is black out? How to use in English

Discover the meaning of black out in English, its pronunciation, and how to use it correctly in real-life situations. See examples and easy memorization tips.

Definition & pronunciation of black out

black outphrasal verb

tắt đèn

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Where does the word black out come from?

The term "black out" has its roots in the world of sports, specifically boxing. In the early 20th century, when a boxer was knocked out and fell to the canvas, it was said that he "went to the canvas" or was "put down." However, these phrases failed to describe the deep, heavily influential state that knocked-out boxers entered, as they became unconscious and unresponsive. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, a new phrase emerged: "blackout." This term, originating from the world of aviation, referred to a loss of visibility caused by clouds, smoke or bombs during nighttime bombing raids in World War II. It came to represent the complete darkness that overcame these boxers while they were unconscious. The metaphorical use of "blackout" eventually spread beyond boxing and into the general vernacular, where it came to describe situations in which information or vision was obscured, in a broad range of contexts including media, politics, and personal life. In this context, when someone says, "I'm going to blackout my social media accounts," they mean they will eliminate or hide their online presence, removing all transparency and visibility from their accounts for a certain period. The use of the term in this context highlights the idea of a total loss of awareness, information or function, and its origin in sports serves as a reminder of the deep, unconscious state that such actions can sometimes lead to.

Example of vocabulary black outnamespace

meaning

to make a place dark by turning off lights, covering windows, etc.

  • A power failure blacked out the city last night.
  • a house with blacked out windows
meaning

to prevent something such as a piece of writing or a television broadcast from being read or seen

  • Some lines of the document have been blacked out for security reasons.

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