blackout

blackout

n.
  1. a suspension of radio or tv broadcasting.
  2. any darkness resulting from the extinction of lights.
  3. the failure of electric power for a general region sufficient to extinguish all normal lighting.
  4. a momentary loss of consciousness.
  5. partial or total loss of memory.
  6. a period during which artificial lighting is forbidden, as in a city as a precaution against an air raid.
  7. the darkening of all stage lights, as at then end of a performance or between acts. (Theater)
  8. suppression of information distribution; as, there was a blackout on news from the military for the first day of the Gulf War.
  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.