blank
Americanadjective
-
(of paper or other writing surface) having no marks; not written or printed on.
a blank sheet of paper.
-
not filled in, as a printed form.
a blank check.
-
unrelieved or unbroken by ornament, opening, decoration, etc..
a blank wall.
-
lacking some usual or completing feature.
An image is stamped onto a blank coin by a die.
-
(of a recording medium) containing no previously recorded information.
She transferred all the restored data onto a blank hard drive.
I still have a few blank CD-ROMs.
-
void of interest, variety, results, etc..
She sometimes occupied her blank days reading detective stories.
-
showing no attention, interest, or emotion.
a blank expression on his face.
-
disconcerted; nonplussed; speechless.
He looked blank when I asked him why he applied for the job.
- Synonyms:
- perplexed, dumbstruck
-
blank stupidity.
- Synonyms:
- unqualified, absolute, perfect, unadulterated, thorough, pure, downright
-
Archaic. white; pale; colorless.
noun
-
blanks
plural
-
a place where something is lacking; an empty space.
a blank in one's memory.
-
a space in a printed form, test, etc., to be filled in.
Write your name in the blank.
-
a printed form containing such spaces.
Have you filled out one of these blanks?
-
a dash put in place of an omitted letter, series of letters, etc., especially to avoid writing a word considered profane or obscene.
-
Metalworking. a piece of metal ready to be drawn, pressed, or machined into a finished object.
-
Archery. the bull's-eye.
verb (used with object)
-
blanks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
blanked,
past participle, past
-
blanking
present participle
-
to cross out or delete, especially in order to invalidate or void (usually followed byout ).
to blank out an entry.
-
Informal. to keep (an opponent) from scoring in a game.
-
Metalworking. to stamp or punch out of flat stock, as with a die.
idioms
adjective
-
(of a writing surface) bearing no marks; not written on
-
(of a form, etc) with spaces left for details to be filled in
-
without ornament or break; unrelieved
a blank wall
-
not filled in; empty; void
a blank space
-
exhibiting no interest or expression
a blank look
-
lacking understanding; confused
he looked blank even after the explanations
-
absolute; complete
blank rejection
-
devoid of ideas or inspiration
his mind went blank in the exam
-
unproductive; barren
noun
-
an emptiness; void; blank space
-
an empty space for writing in, as on a printed form
-
a printed form containing such empty spaces
-
something characterized by incomprehension or mental confusion
my mind went a complete blank
-
a mark, often a dash, in place of a word, esp a taboo word
-
short for blank cartridge
-
a plate or plug used to seal an aperture
-
a piece of material prepared for stamping, punching, forging, etc
-
archery the white spot in the centre of a target
-
-
to choose a lottery ticket that fails to win
-
to get no results from something
-
verb
-
(usually foll by out) to cross out, blot, or obscure
-
slang to ignore or be unresponsive towards (someone)
the crowd blanked her for the first four numbers
-
to forge, stamp, punch, or cut (a piece of material) in preparation for forging, die-stamping, or drawing operations
-
(often foll by off) to seal (an aperture) with a plate or plug
-
informal to prevent (an opponent) from scoring in a game
Synonym Usage
See empty.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
blanksimple
-
blankssimple
-
have blankedperfect
-
has blankedperfect
-
am blankingprogressive
-
are blankingprogressive
-
is blankingprogressive
-
have been blankingperfect progressive
-
has been blankingperfect progressive
Past
-
blankedsimple
-
had blankedperfect
-
was blankingprogressive
-
were blankingprogressive
-
had been blankingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of blank
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English (noun and adjective) from Anglo-French, French blanc; adjective from Germanic; compare Old English blanca “white horse,” Old High German blanch “bright, white” ( German blank )
Explanation
Something that's blank is empty or undecorated. A blank canvas hasn't been drawn or painted on yet — it's clean and unmarked. A blank computer screen has no information on it, and a blank look on someone's face is completely free of any expression, revealing nothing. If your mind goes blank during a job interview, you are left without any thoughts for a moment. When blank is a noun, it means "a line to be filled in" or "an empty space." In the 1500s, a blank was the empty, white center of a target, from the French word blanc, or "white."
Vocabulary lists containing blank
Absent
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Empty
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Absent
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A political novice, Darline is a blank slate and has been notoriously press-shy since taking office.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
Savita believes the exam was manipulated, alleging some candidates left answers blank so they could be filled in later.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
"The screen went blank, flashed several times and the phone appeared to restart," according to CBP officers.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
She was running for a rare open congressional seat in San Francisco and, though well known in political circles as a prodigious Democratic fundraiser and high-level activist, Pelosi was a blank slate to many voters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Cat looked at the blank screen for a moment before turning it off.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
Yet many companies have been waiting for the Treasury Department and IRS to fill in the blanks on the rules for contributions from employers and employees.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
The reporting since then has filled in the blanks.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
Keenan, a gym owner and fitness fanatic from Rossett, Wrexham, has very little memory of the day of his collapse and only knows what happened because others have filled in the blanks.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
The Journal’s article fills in some of the blanks.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
There are blanks and skeletons, barrel-stem keys and saturn-bow keys, elevator keys and cabinet keys.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
HBO the canvas is wider and blanker, and Sinclair says that the previous episodes put them under pressure too.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 16, 2016
Eilis’s innocence couldn’t be purer or blanker if she had been imported straight from “Little Red Riding Hood,” and the simplicity of the good—and the bad—folk back home in Enniscorthy couldn’t be more apparent.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 6, 2015
On that first day, I glimpsed Ayano in the intensive care room, wrapped in a red and blue blanker, struggling to breathe, his eyes tipped back into his skull.
From Time Magazine Archive
The men hovering around us all had that murky quality to their expressions—blank smiles, blanker eyes.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
Blank verse, which, unless in the drama, no one except Milton ever wrote who could rhyme, becamePg 20 the order of the day,—or else such rhyme as looked still blanker than the verse without it.
From Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 5 With His Letters and Journals by Thomas Moore
"No," said the Spain coach, with the blankest of looks on his face, after being asked if he had seen a better team than his at the European Championship.
From Fox News ● Jul. 5, 2021
“No,” said the Spain coach, with the blankest of looks on his face, after being asked if he had seen a better team than his at the European Championship.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 5, 2021
“She looked at me right in the eye with the blankest face, the blankest white pale face, a face that haunts me to this day, and says, ‘I love you,’ he recalled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2016
“It was a failed experiment. I was singing something about how expensive my hormones were, and I just got the blankest face from him.”
From The Guardian ● Apr. 7, 2016
None of his “leads” had led anywhere, except, perhaps, down a blind alley toward the blankest of walls.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
Leo Darrelatour crossed to prevent Catalans from being blanked but there was still time for James McDonnell to add an eighth try for Leeds.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
The Italians blanked the sixth, and claimed two in the seventh to open up a healthy advantage again.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026
He blanked out his mind and refused to think critically.
From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2025
No. 5 Texas Tech, fueled by a player payroll reportedly worth more than $25 million this season, blanked West Virginia 49-0 and looks like a lock to make the playoff field.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025
Overhead, the stars are blanked out by clouds.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
When a team scores, the hammer passes to the other team for the next end, which can lead to rinks tactically blanking an end rather than just taking one point so they retain the hammer.
From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026
He pushed his pitch count to 65 in his next start for Oklahoma City on April 6, blanking Albuquerque on two hits, striking out six and walking none over 4 ⅔ innings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2024
The Kraken are 6-0-2 in Daccord’s past eight starts and he posted his second shutout in the last three weeks after blanking Florida on Dec. 12.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 1, 2024
Temporarily blanking on names and misplacing items is normal.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 18, 2023
This happens every time—the blanking out, the waking up.
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
