blindfold
Americanverb (used with object)
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to prevent or occlude sight by covering (the eyes) with a cloth, bandage, or the like; cover the eyes of.
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to impair the awareness or clear thinking of.
Don't let their hospitality blindfold you to the true purpose of their invitation.
noun
adjective
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with the eyes covered.
a blindfold test.
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rash; unthinking.
a blindfold denunciation before knowing the facts.
verb
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to prevent (a person or animal) from seeing by covering (the eyes)
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to prevent from perceiving or understanding
noun
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a piece of cloth, bandage, etc, used to cover the eyes
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any interference to sight
adjective
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having the eyes covered with a cloth or bandage
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chess not seeing the board and pieces
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rash; inconsiderate
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of blindfold
1520–30; alteration, by association with fold 1, of blindfell to cover the eyes, strike blind, Middle English blindfellen; see blind, fell 2
Explanation
A blindfold is a strip of fabric that's tied across your eyes so you can't see. At a birthday party, you might wear a blindfold and attempt to pin a paper tail on a picture of a donkey. A bank robber might blindfold a hostage, and a kindergarten teacher might also tie a blindfold on the birthday boy during a party game. In both cases, the blindfold makes the person unable to see what's going on. The earliest, 14th century version of the word was blindfelled, the past participle of blindfellan, "cover the eyes," from the Old English blindfellian, "to strike blind."
Vocabulary lists containing blindfold
Unit 1: Telling Details
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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.
Some are visible before one puts on the blindfold.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
The host handed me a blindfold and Bose noise-canceling headphones, playing the hypnotic sounds of a space drum with birds chirping in the distance.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026
One woman I interviewed remembered that while she was blindfolded, she was able to peek under her blindfold and see a tile pattern on the floor.
From Slate • Feb. 17, 2026
He spent his last days playing cards at the Magic Castle with magicians who - Booth notes - claimed they could beat Bux only if he didn't put on his blindfold.
From BBC • Oct. 21, 2023
To her dread and dismay, the girl stopped before her and removed the blindfold.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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.
