brown out

brown out

1. verb To weaken in electrical energy, typically resulting in dim lights. The construction currently underway in our building causes our lights to brown out all the time. Nobody likes their power to brown out, but I guess it's better than having no power at all. It's an old house with old wiring, so the lights in the living room brown out when we turn on the air conditioner.

2. noun A period of reduced electrical energy typically accompanied by dim lights. In this usage, it is often spelled as one word ("brownout"). Thanks to the construction project currently underway in our building, we have brownouts all the time. If this boiling heat continues for much longer, get ready for city-wide brownouts. I was in the shower when that brownout happened, and, let me tell you, it was kind of creepy! I could barely see what I was doing.

See also: brown, out

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

brown out

[for the electricity] to diminish in power and dim the lights, causing a brownout. (Something less than a blackout, when there is no power.) The power kept browning out. The lights started to brown out, and I thought maybe there was a power shortage.

See also: brown, out

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

brown out

verb

See brown out

See also: brown, out

brown out

1. in. [for the electricity] to fade and dim down. (Something less than a blackout.) The power kept browning out.

2. and brown out n. a period of dimming or fading of the electricity. They keep building all these expensive power stations, and then we still have brown outs.

See also: brown, out

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.