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:
One day, I saw my older sister carefully burning the edges of a blank notebook.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
Is it a sight of pure, inhumane evil, or do their blank expressions merely reflect a corruption that can still be reversed?
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026
“We were ecstatic. And then a year passed. And then two years passed. I think they wanted people to have a blank slate in going into ‘The Drop.’”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
US district judge Rita Lin said in the ruling that citing national security "is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics".
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Now that Michael had the opportunity to rattle off questions, his mind went blank.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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
It is the lack of detail and potentially very narrow window to fill in the blanks that are causing jitters for some in the party.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
The Journal’s article fills in some of the blanks.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
There were three headings with blanks after them: Elementary Schools, High Schools, and Colleges.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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
A few moments more, and the heavenly dream would become a glorious, life-brightening reality, or would melt away, a delusive mirage in the desert of his existence, leaving his pathway a blanker wilderness than ever.
From Fairy Fingers A Novel by Anna Cora Ogden Mowatt Ritchie
"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
Four-goal Mikel Oyarzabal has blanked in the past two matches, so Luis de la Fuente's side have needed late intervention from substitute Mikel Merino to edge past both Portugal and Belgium in the knockout rounds.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
The week before, he blanked the Padres but only made it through five innings on 88 pitches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
On their home ice and snow, Norway went from getting blanked to winning 10 golds and the medal count.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026
He blanked out his mind and refused to think critically.
From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2025
Chess hoped Emma was listening closely to hear what they needed to be extra cautious about, because he blanked out for a moment.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Tudor came under heavy criticism, not just for replacing Antonin Kinsky after only 17 minutes following two mistakes in the 5-2 defeat, but for blanking the young keeper as he walked off.
From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2026
It was Minnesota’s first shutout since defeating Green Bay 16-0 on Dec. 23, 2017 and the first blanking of Las Vegas since its 24-0 loss to New Orleans on Oct.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 11, 2023
It was Minnesota’s first shutout since defeating the Packers 16-0 on Dec. 23, 2017 and the first blanking of Las Vegas since its 24-0 loss to New Orleans on Oct.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 10, 2023
But Cubs right-hander Taillon was up to the task, blanking the Dodgers on two hits in five innings, striking out seven and walking two, and relievers Leiter and Thompson added three scoreless innings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 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.
