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

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 • Nov. 11, 2025

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

From Barron's • Oct. 17, 2025

“To have a blank check for this level of leave — there’s no way to really plan or prepare for it from a staffing or financial standpoint, which in the end hurts students.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2025

And the other is that, as bad as things are right now, you’re just sort of handing him a blank check.

From Slate • Mar. 18, 2025

I bought with my blank check enough clothes to fill the backseat of the Cadillac.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

Related Words

• free rein