Noun
an eclipse of the sun
The popularity of television led to the eclipse of the radio drama.
an artist whose reputation has long been in eclipseVerb
The sun was partially eclipsed by the moon.
Train travel was eclipsed by the growth of commercial airlines.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Previous eclipses unveiled helium in the sun’s atmosphere in 1868 and helped to demonstrate the gravitational bending of light predicted by Einstein’s general theory of relativity in the early 20th century.—Aaron Shattuck, Scientific American, 25 June 2024 The city will experience the eclipse's peak coverage at 2:08:10 p.m.—Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 6 June 2024
Verb
The World Meteorological Organization says there is an 86% chance that one of the next five years will eclipse 2023 to become the warmest on record.—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 21 June 2024 Soto, 25, has eclipsed 100 walks in every season that he’s played in at least 150 games.—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 21 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for eclipse
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eclipse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
borrowed from Middle English eclipse, clips, borrowed from Anglo-French eclyps, eclypse, borrowed from Latin eclīpsis, borrowed from Greek ékleipsis "abandonment, failure, cessation, obscuring of a celestial body by another," from ekleípein "to leave out, abandon, cease, die, be obscured (of a celestial body)" (from ek-ec- + leípein "to leave, quit, be missing") + -sis-sis — more at delinquent entry 2
Verb
Middle English eclypsen, clypsen, derivative of eclipseeclipse entry 1, probably after Medieval Latin eclīpsāre or Middle French esclipser
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