blank check

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of blank check¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

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

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

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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.

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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.

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

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Related Words

• free rein