going dark
Cutting off contact
Going dark means ceasing communication or becoming unreachable, especially deliberately.
Someone might go dark on social media, or a spy goes dark when cutting contact with handlers.
In military and intelligence contexts, it specifically means switching off electronic signals to avoid detection: The unit went dark before crossing the border.
The phrase suggests intentional withdrawal into silence or invisibility.
- black outLose consciousness briefly
- lights outMandatory sleep time
- outageLoss of electrical service
- pulling the plugEnding something definitively
- dead dropsConcealed exchange locations
concealment · deep cover · ghosting · stealth · under the radar · shadow · radio silence · loss · invisible · safe houses · withdraw · silent · no contact · clandestine operations · off-grid living · off the grid · vanish · unseen
- concealmentconceal, hiding, concealing, concealed, hide
- evasionevasion, avoiding, avoids, evade, dodging
- sign-offsgoodbye, farewell, bye, see you later, sincerely
- staying hiddenhiding, disappearing
- Spycraftspy, agent, asset, covert, handler
- withdrawalwithdrawing, cash withdrawal, ATM withdrawal, early withdrawal, fund withdrawal
going darkgoing online
checking in · reaching out · resurfacing · breaking silence · responding
going darklighting up
Causing to illuminate
coming to light · brightening · switching on · powering up · turning on
going darklaunching
Setting something in motion
powering up · activating · starting up · turning on · booting up
gone, going, goer, goers, outgoing, ongoing, dark, darks, darker