blotter
Americannoun
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a piece of blotting paper used to absorb excess ink, to protect a desk top, etc.
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a book in which transactions or events, as sales or arrests, are recorded as they occur.
a police blotter.
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Machinery. a soft washer of blotting paper or felt for cushioning a brittle object against shock or pressure or for increasing the friction or contact area between two surfaces.
noun
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something used to absorb excess ink or other liquid, esp a sheet of blotting paper with a firm backing
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a daily record of events, such as arrests, in a police station (esp in the phrase police blotter )
Etymology
Origin of blotter
1585–95; 1887 blotter for def. 2; blot 1 + -er 1
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.
He grew up in Latrobe, Penn., and got his start in journalism writing the police blotter for his local paper.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026
Police responded to the crash at 4th Avenue South and South Washington Street shortly before noon, police said in an online blotter post.
From Seattle Times ● May 23, 2024
Meneley’s shooting is the first shooting by SPD officers in eight months and the first fatal one in 23 months, the blotter post says.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 24, 2024
This arrangement—the “four-way”—would recur throughout the history of blotter.
From Slate ● Apr. 17, 2024
Then I looked down again at the desk, and the note-paper, ready for use, upon the blotter.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
