Eclipse
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 An alignment of astronomical objects whereby one object comes between the observer (or notional observer) and another object, thus obscuring the latter. countable, uncountable
- 2 one celestial body obscures another wordnet
- 3 Especially, an alignment whereby a planetary object (for example, the Moon) comes between the Sun and another planetary object (for example, the Earth), resulting in a shadow being cast by the middle planetary object onto the other planetary object. countable, uncountable
- 4 A seasonal state of plumage in some birds, notably ducks, adopted temporarily after the breeding season and characterised by a dull and scruffy appearance. countable, uncountable
- 5 Obscurity, decline, downfall. countable, uncountable
"a. 1618, Walter Raleigh, quoted in Eclipse, entry in 1805, Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language, Volume 2, unnumbered page, All the posterity of our first parents suffered a perpetual eclipse of spiritual life."
- 1 Of astronomical or atmospheric bodies, to cause an eclipse. transitive
"The Moon eclipsed the Sun."
- 2 cause an eclipse of (a celestial body) by intervention wordnet
- 3 To overshadow; to be better or more noticeable than. figuratively, transitive
"For, till I see them here, by doubtful fear / My joy of liberty is half eclips'd."
- 4 be greater in significance than wordnet
- 5 To undergo eclipsis. Irish
Example
More examples"An eclipse of the moon is a rare phenomenon."
Etymology
From Old French eclipse, from Latin eclīpsis, from Ancient Greek ἔκλειψις (ékleipsis, “eclipse”), from ἐκλείπω (ekleípō, “I abandon, go missing, vanish”), from ἐκ (ek, “out”) and λείπω (leípō, “I leave behind”). Doublet of eclipsis.
Related phrases
More for "eclipse"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.