greyout
greyout Lexical Profile
greyout Game Scores & Validity
• noun
British A transient dimming or blurring of vision without a complete loss of consciousness, typically caused by reduced blood flow to the brain under high gravitational forces or sudden changes in posture.
"The test pilot experienced a brief greyout while pulling the aircraft out of a steep dive."
British A partial reduction in electrical power or exterior lighting, less severe than a total blackout.
"The summer heatwave strained the regional power grid, resulting in a temporary greyout across several suburbs."
• verb
British To visually dim or render a graphical user interface element in shades of grey to indicate that it is currently inactive or unavailable.
"The software will automatically greyout the submit button until all mandatory fields are completed."
Word Nuance & Usage
Primarily British and Commonwealth spelling of 'grayout'. In aviation and medicine, a greyout differs from a blackout in that the person loses peripheral vision and color perception while remaining fully conscious.
• Rhymes for greyout
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the mid-20th century from 'grey' and 'out', modeled on the earlier term 'blackout' during World War II aviation and wartime lighting restrictions.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.