Definition

Noun: 1. A period or condition of reduced lighting: Specifically, a partial blackout enforced as a security measure, typically during wartime, where outdoor and some indoor lights are dimmed or extinguished to make a city or area less visible from the air. 2. The darkness resulting from this measure: The state of reduced visibility caused by the mandatory reduction of artificial light.

Usage

• A is a specific type of security protocol. It is less severe than a total blackout, where all lights must be extinguished.
• The term is primarily used in historical or military contexts, especially relating to World War II.
• It functions as a countable noun (e.g., , ).

Examples

• Noun:
  • The city observed a strict dimout every night to avoid being targeted by bombers.
  • During the dimout, streetlights were switched off and windows had to be covered with dark curtains.
  • The dimout plunged the coastal town into an eerie semi-darkness.

Advanced Usage

• "to enforce a dimout": To implement and ensure compliance with dimout regulations.
  • The authorities moved to enforce a dimout after intelligence reports of enemy reconnaissance flights.
• "dimout regulations" or "dimout orders": The official rules governing the reduction of lighting.
  • Citizens were fined for violating the dimout orders.

Variants and Related Words

• Blackout (noun): A complete absence of light, often for security or to prevent air raids; also, a temporary loss of consciousness or memory.
  • A blackout was more disruptive than a dimout, requiring all light sources to be completely hidden.
• Brownout (noun): A reduction in electrical power supply, causing lights to dim; not a security measure but an electrical grid issue.

Synonyms

• Partial blackout: The closest synonym, emphasizing it is not a complete blackout.
• Lighting restriction: A more general term for any rule limiting light usage.

Related Phrases

• To be under a dimout: Describes the state of an area subject to dimout rules.
  • The entire harbor was under a dimout for weeks.

Noun

1. darkness resulting from the extinction of lights (as in a city invisible to enemy aircraft)