power outage — A period when the electricity supply to a building or area is interrupted
Part of speech: NOUN
Definition: A period when the electricity supply to a building or area is interrupted
Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈpaʊər ˈaʊtɪdʒ/
Example Sentences
- During the power outage, I discovered my phone battery was at 1% - perfect timing!
- The power outage forced our entire office to actually talk to each other face-to-face.
- Please report any power outage to the utility company immediately.
power outage
NOUN[/ˈpaʊər ˈaʊtɪdʒ/]
A period when the electricity supply to a building or area is interrupted
a father reaches toward a wall light switch while his wife and children sit on the couch. He flicks the switch but nothing happens as all the lights remain completely dark. The television screen is black and silent while a digital clock shows no display. The family looks around confused as candles and flashlights become their only source of light. Outside the window, the entire neighborhood appears dark without any house lights or street lamps working. a period when the electricity supply to the building is completely interrupted
Power outage hits the cottage, revealing the shortage
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
Power derives from Latin potere, meaning 'to be able' or 'to have strength', which evolved to denote physical or electrical force. Outage originates from the Old French outage, formed from out (outside) and the suffix -age (state or condition), originally referring to the state of being extinguished or cut off, later applied specifically to electrical supply interruptions.
Breakdown
power (from Latin potere, strength or capability) + outage (out- [outside] + -age [state/condition], meaning the state of being cut off or without supply). The compound literally describes the condition of electrical power being removed or unavailable.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“During the power outage, I discovered my phone battery was at 1% - perfect timing!”
“The power outage forced our entire office to actually talk to each other face-to-face.”
“Please report any power outage to the utility company immediately.”
“The hospital has backup generators in case of a power outage.”
📚Related Words
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