blotter

[ blot-er ]

/ ˈblɒt ər /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for blotter on Thesaurus.com

noun

a piece of blotting paper used to absorb excess ink, to protect a desk top, etc.

a book in which transactions or events, as sales or arrests, are recorded as they occur: a police blotter.

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.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of blotter

1585–95; 1887 for def. 2; blot¹ + -er¹

Words nearby blotter

blot analysis, blotch, blotch printing, blotchy, blot out, blotter, blotting paper, blotto, blouse, blouson, blousy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use blotter in a sentence

He fit that work between other daily news, his column and a crime blotter he writes, sprinkled with storytelling flourishes that make it easy to imagine Mark Twain reading the contents to a crowd.
The Key Role a Local Newspaper Played in the Trial Over Ahmaud Arbery's Murder|Janell Ross/Brunswick, Ga.|November 30, 2021|Time
At the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum, visitors stood before a towering depiction of the battle while inhaling the custom fragrance from blotters or tiny pumps.
Aromas can evoke beloved journeys — or voyages not yet taken|Jen Rose Smith|February 11, 2021|Washington Post
To the brokers of the future a lot of the value for clients comes from being able to integrate across all points of the trading life-cycle from the blotter to parent orders to child orders.
COVID put electronic trading to the test. It’s never buckled, Goldman Sachs says|Bernhard Warner|November 22, 2020|Fortune
But those claims clash with reports by independent groups that monitor data from morgues, emergency rooms and the police blotter.
Former Miss Venezuela Murdered In Roadside Attack|Mac Margolis|January 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And so much the rest of the story reads more like a police blotter than a saga of good old country music.
The Mindy McCready I Knew|Laurence Leamer|February 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Edna opened the blotter, and having procured paper and pen, began to write the note.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Then I held the paper below it, pressed the paw down, and made a signature, wiping the paw afterward with a blotter.
The Idyl of Twin Fires|Walter Prichard Eaton
They will quickly dry in this manner and will not become moldy, as the blotter soaks up the moisture.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2|Various
The boss was sitting back in his chair and making little rings on the desk blotter with the point of his letter-opener.
The Wreckers|Francis Lynde
Courtney laid the paper-cutter carefully on the blotter, and drawing out his cigarette case, he selected one and slowly lit it.
The Colonel of the Red Huzzars|John Reed Scott

British Dictionary definitions for blotter

blotter

/ (ˈblɒtə) /

noun

something used to absorb excess ink or other liquid, esp a sheet of blotting paper with a firm backing

US a daily record of events, such as arrests, in a police station (esp in the phrase police blotter)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

blotter

Origin of blotter

Words nearby blotter

Words related to blotter

How to use blotter in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for blotter