ECLIPSE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does eclipse mean? 

• ECLIPSE (noun)
  The noun ECLIPSE has 1 sense:

1. one celestial body obscures another

  Familiarity information: ECLIPSE used as a noun is very rare.

• ECLIPSE (verb)
  The verb ECLIPSE has 2 senses:

1. be greater in significance than

2. cause an eclipse of (a celestial body) by intervention

  Familiarity information: ECLIPSE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ECLIPSE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

One celestial body obscures another

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

eclipse; occultation

Hypernyms ("eclipse" is a kind of...):

break; interruption (some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity)

Meronyms (parts of "eclipse"):

egress; emersion ((astronomy) the reappearance of a celestial body after an eclipse)

immersion; ingress ((astronomy) the disappearance of a celestial body prior to an eclipse)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "eclipse"):

solar eclipse (the moon interrupts light from the sun)

lunar eclipse (the earth interrupts light shining on the moon)

total eclipse (an eclipse as seen from a place where the eclipsed body is completely obscured)

partial eclipse (an eclipse in which the eclipsed body is only partially obscured)

Derivation:

eclipse (cause an eclipse of (a celestial body) by intervention)

• ECLIPSE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they eclipse    ... he / she / it eclipses   
Past simple: eclipsed   
Past participle: eclipsed   
-ing form: eclipsing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be greater in significance than

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

dominate; eclipse; overshadow

Context example:

the tragedy overshadowed the couple's happiness

Hypernyms (to "eclipse" is one way to...):

brood; bulk large; hover; loom (hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cause an eclipse of (a celestial body) by intervention

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

eclipse; occult

Context example:

Planets and stars often are occulted by other celestial bodies

Hypernyms (to "eclipse" is one way to...):

overshadow (cast a shadow upon)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

eclipse (one celestial body obscures another)

 Context examples 

As Europa eclipsed Io, LBTO captured the incoming infrared light.

(Massive Lava Waves Detected on Solar System’s Most Volcanically Active Object, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

An eclipse is strong for 6 to 12 months, but you would see shifts show up shortly after it occurs.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The method used by the scientists consists of stellar occultation, which is when these objects move in front of a star, like a small eclipse.

(Brazil astronomers discover ring around dwarf planet near Pluto, Agência Brasil)

The new study documents atmospheric changes on Io as the giant planet casts its shadow over the moon’s surface during daily eclipses.

(New Research Reveals Fluctuating Atmosphere of Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon, NASA)

Amy's dainty pen-and-ink work entirely eclipsed May's painted vases—that was one thorn.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

While total solar eclipses happen somewhere on Earth almost every year, they mostly occur in remote locations or over the ocean, where few if any people actually witness them.

(Perseid Meteor Shower Provides Opening Act for Solar Eclipse, VOA News)

He stood between me and every thought of religion, as an eclipse intervenes between man and the broad sun.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

It was a pleasant evening indeed, and we voted that as a social function on Endeavour Island it had not yet been eclipsed.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

They are well enough acquainted with the motions of those two luminaries, and understand the nature of eclipses; and this is the utmost progress of their astronomy.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

This study analyzed five eclipses from archived Hubble data and two from Spitzer.

(WASP-18b Has Smothering Stratosphere Without Water, NASA)