Definition of "dimout" [dimout]

• Darkness resulting from the extinction of lights (as in a city invisible to enemy aircraft) (noun)

WordNet. Princeton University. 2010.

• "During World War II, the United States was adhering to a wartime "dimout" and in 1942 and 1943, there was no ball drop."
• "During those war years, New York was subject to a "dimout" of lights intended to protect the city from Axis bombings."
• "Tradition took root and the ball has heralded a new beginning almost every year since - in 1942 and 1943, during World War II, the ball was temporarily put out of commission by a war-time "dimout.""