blank check

American  

noun

1. a bank check bearing a signature but no stated amount.

2. unrestricted authority; a free hand.

   He was given a blank check in the choice of personnel for the new department.

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blank check Idioms  

1. Unrestricted authority, a free hand, as in I'll support most of the chairman's agenda, but I'm not ready to give him a blank check for the company's future. Literally this term signifies a bank check that is signed by the drawer but does not indicate the amount of money, which is filled in by the person to whom it is given. [Late 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of blank check

First recorded in 1790–95, and in 1885–90 blank check for def. 2

Example Sentences

On Friday, the bank’s lawyer said the duo were essentially treating the legal bill order as a “blank check.”

From The Wall Street Journal

I’d get a scrap of paper from my purse, the back of a receipt or a blank check to write on.

From The Wall Street Journal

But the latest results—and the reaction in after-hours trading Wednesday—show the blank check investors have written to the Facebook parent might have an expiration date after all.

From The Wall Street Journal

The bank said in its Friday filing that Javice and her convicted colleague, Olivier Amar, have treated the bank’s agreement like a “blank check” and used it to pay personal expenses, too.

From The Wall Street Journal

However, Bessent would be doing Argentina no favor by writing it a blank check to support an overvalued exchange rate.

From Barron's

Related Words

• free rein