Oxford Dictionary English

    eclipse

    noun
    noun
    BrE BrE//ɪˈklɪps//
    ; NAmE NAmE//ɪˈklɪps//
    The sun and the moon
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  1. 1 [countable] an occasion when the moon passes between the earth and the sun so that you cannot see all or part of the sun for a time; an occasion when the earth passes between the moon and the sun so that you cannot see all or part of the moon for a time an eclipse of the sun/moon a total/partial eclipse Wordfindersundaylight, eclipse, equinox, ray, rise, solar, solstice, the sun, twilight, the universe Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivelunar, solar, partial, … phrasesan eclipse of the moon, an eclipse of the sun See full entry See related entries: The sun and the moon
  2. 2[singular, uncountable] a loss of importance, power, etc. especially because somebody/something else has become more important, powerful, etc. The election result marked the eclipse of the right wing. Her work was in eclipse for most of the 20th century.
    3.  Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French e(s)clipse (noun), eclipser (verb), via Latin from Greek ekleipsis, from ekleipein ‘fail to appear, be eclipsed’, from ek ‘out’ + leipein ‘to leave’.
See eclipse in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: eclipse
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