black out
To suddenly faint or lose memory, OR for all the lights to go out completely.
Meanings
To faint or lose consciousness suddenly.
"She blacked out from the heat and woke up on the floor of the stadium."
To experience a period of memory loss, often due to alcohol or trauma.
"He drank so much at the party that he blacked out and couldn't remember getting home."
To cover or delete text, images, or information so that it cannot be read, usually for censorship or security.
"Several lines of the report had been blacked out before it was released to the public."
To extinguish or cut off all lights or electrical power in an area.
"The city was blacked out for six hours after the storm damaged the power lines."
"London was blacked out and German aircraft droned overhead."
— Winston Churchill, The Second World War (historical reference to WWII blackouts)
One of the most versatile phrasal verbs with this particle. The medical/psychological sense (fainting, memory loss) is very common in everyday speech. The censorship sense (blacking out text) is common in news and government contexts. The electrical sense (power blackout) is widely used. Often becomes the noun 'blackout.'
Commonly used with
Forms
Understand "black out" better
Real video examples
Video examples are being collected. Check back soon.
Want to master this phrasal verb?
Practice "black out" on Looplines