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Blank Definition
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blank

  [blangk] adjective, -er, -est, noun, verb
Use blank in a Sentence
–adjective
1. (of paper or other writing surface) having no marks; not written or printed on: a blank sheet of paper.
2. not filled in, as a printed form: a blank check.
3. unrelieved or unbroken by ornament, opening, decoration, etc.: a blank wall.
4. lacking some usual or completing feature: a blank roll of film.
5. (of a recording medium) containing no previously recorded information: a blank videocassette; a blank floppy disk. Compare prerecorded.
6. void of interest, variety, results, etc.: She sometimes occupied her blank days reading detective stories.
7. showing no attention, interest, or emotion: a blank expression on his face.
8. disconcerted; nonplussed; speechless: He looked blank when I asked him why he applied for the job.
9. complete; utter; unmitigated: blank stupidity.
10. Archaic. white; pale; colorless.
–noun
11. a place where something is lacking; an empty space: a blank in one's memory.
12. a space in a printed form, test, etc., to be filled in: Write your name in the blank.
13. a printed form containing such spaces: Have you filled out one of these blanks?
14. a dash put in place of an omitted letter, series of letters, etc., esp. to avoid writing a word considered profane or obscene.
15. Metalworking. a piece of metal ready to be drawn, pressed, or machined into a finished object.
16. Archery. the bull's-eye.
17. the object toward which anything is directed; aim; target.
18. blank cartridge.
–verb (used with object)
19. to cross out or delete, esp. in order to invalidate or void (usually fol. by out): to blank out an entry.
20. Informal. to keep (an opponent) from scoring in a game.
21. Metalworking. to stamp or punch out of flat stock, as with a die.
—Idiom
22. draw a blank,
a. to fail in an attempt; be unsuccessful: We've drawn a blank in the investigation.
b. to fail to comprehend or be unable to recollect: He asked me their phone number and I drew a blank.
Origin:
1300–50; ME (n. and adj.) < AF, F blanc (adj.) < Gmc; cf. OE blanca white horse, OHG blanch bright, white

Related forms:
blankness, noun

Synonyms:
1–4. See empty. 8. dumfounded, confused, astounded. 9. pure, simple, unadulterated; perfect, absolute, unqualified. 11. void, vacancy, emptiness; gap, lacuna, hiatus.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To blank
blank   (blāngk)   
adj.   blank·er, blank·est
    1. Devoid of writing, images, or marks: a blank page; a blank screen.
    2. Containing no information; unrecorded or erased: a blank tape; a blank diskette.
    3. Lacking expression; expressionless: "Although his gestures were elaborate, his face was blank" (Nathanael West). See Synonyms at empty.
    4. Appearing or seeming to appear dazed or confused: greeted me with a blank stare.
  2. Not completed or filled in: a blank questionnaire.
  3. Not having received final processing; unfinished: a blank key.
    1. Lacking expression; expressionless: "Although his gestures were elaborate, his face was blank" (Nathanael West). See Synonyms at empty.
    2. Appearing or seeming to appear dazed or confused: greeted me with a blank stare.
  5. Devoid of thought or impression: a blank mind.
  6. Devoid of activity, interest, or distinctive character; empty: tried to fill the blank hours of the day.
  7. Absolute; complete: a blank refusal.
n.  
  1. An empty space or place; a void: During the exam my mind was a blank.
    1. An empty space on a document to be filled in.
    2. A document with one or more such spaces.
  3. A manufactured article of a standard shape or form that is ready for final processing, as by stamping or cutting: a key blank.
  4. A blank cartridge.
  5. Something worthless, such as a losing lottery ticket.
  6. A mark, usually a dash (—), indicating the omission of a word or of a letter or letters.
  7. The white circle in the center of a target; a bull's-eye.
v.   blanked, blank·ing, blanks

v.   tr.
  1. To remove, as from view; obliterate: "At times the strong glare of the sun blanked it from sight" (Richard Wright).
  2. To block access to: blank off a subway tunnel.
  3. Sports To prevent (an opponent) from scoring.
  4. To punch or stamp from flat stock, especially with a die.
v.   intr.
  1. To become abstracted. Often used with out: My mind blanked out for a few seconds.
  2. To fail to find or remember something: I blanked when asked the name of our mayor.
  3. To fade away: The music gradually blanked out.

[Middle English, white, having spaces to be filled in, from Old French blanc, white, of Germanic origin; see bhel-1 in Indo-European roots.]
blank'ly adv., blank'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Blank

Blank\, a. [OE. blank, blonc, blaunc, blaunche, fr. F. blanc, fem. blanche, fr. OHG. blanch shining, bright, white, G. blank; akin to E. blink, cf. also AS. blanc white. ?98. See Blink, and cf. 1st Blanch.]

1. Of a white or pale color; without color.

To the blank moon Her office they prescribed. --Milton.

2. Free from writing, printing, or marks; having an empty space to be filled in with some special writing; -- said of checks, official documents, etc.; as, blank paper; a blank check; a blank ballot.

3. Utterly confounded or discomfited.

Adam . . . astonied stood, and blank. --Milton.

4. Empty; void; without result; fruitless; as, a blank space; a blank day.

5. Lacking characteristics which give variety; as, a blank desert; a blank wall; destitute of interests, affections, hopes, etc.; as, to live a blank existence; destitute of sensations; as, blank unconsciousness.

6. Lacking animation and intelligence, or their associated characteristics, as expression of face, look, etc.; expressionless; vacant. "Blank and horror-stricken faces." --C. Kingsley.

The blank . . . glance of a half returned consciousness. --G. Eliot.

7. Absolute; downright; unmixed; as, blank terror.

Blank bar (Law), a plea put in to oblige the plaintiff in an action of trespass to assign the certain place where the trespass was committed; -- called also common bar.

Blank cartridge, a cartridge containing no ball.

Blank deed. See Deed.

Blank door, or Blank window (Arch.), a depression in a wall of the size of a door or window, either for symmetrical effect, or for the more convenient insertion of a door or window at a future time, should it be needed.

Blank indorsement (Law), an indorsement which omits the name of the person in whose favor it is made; it is usually made by simply writing the name of the indorser on the back of the bill.

Blank line (Print.), a vacant space of the breadth of a line, on a printed page; a line of quadrats.

Blank tire (Mech.), a tire without a flange.

Blank tooling. See Blind tooling, under Blind.

Blank verse. See under Verse.

Blank wall, a wall in which there is no opening; a dead wall.

Blank

Blank\, n. 1. Any void space; a void space on paper, or in any written instrument; an interval void of consciousness, action, result, etc; a void.

I can not write a paper full, I used to do; and yet I will not forgive a blank of half an inch from you. --Swift.

From this time there ensues a long blank in the history of French legislation. --Hallam.

I was ill. I can't tell how long -- it was a blank. --G. Eliot.

2. A lot by which nothing is gained; a ticket in a lottery on which no prize is indicated.

In Fortune's lottery lies A heap of blanks, like this, for one small prize. --Dryden.

3. A paper unwritten; a paper without marks or characters a blank ballot; -- especially, a paper on which are to be inserted designated items of information, for which spaces are left vacant; a bland form.

The freemen signified their approbation by an inscribed vote, and their dissent by a blank. --Palfrey.

4. A paper containing the substance of a legal instrument, as a deed, release, writ, or execution, with spaces left to be filled with names, date, descriptions, etc.

5. The point aimed at in a target, marked with a white spot; hence, the object to which anything is directed.

Let me still remain The true blank of thine eye. --Shak.

6. Aim; shot; range. [Obs.]

I have stood . . . within the blank of his displeasure For my free speech. --Shak.

7. A kind of base silver money, first coined in England by Henry V., and worth about 8 pence; also, a French coin of the seventeenth century, worth about 4 pence. --Nares.

8. (Mech.) A piece of metal prepared to be made into something by a further operation, as a coin, screw, nuts.

9. (Dominoes) A piece or division of a piece, without spots; as, the "double blank"; the "six blank."

In blank, with an essential portion to be supplied by another; as, to make out a check in blank.

Blank

Blank\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blanked; p. pr. & vb. n. Blanking.] [Cf. 3d Blanch.]

1. To make void; to annul. [Obs.] --Spenser.

2. To blanch; to make blank; to damp the spirits of; to dispirit or confuse. [Obs.]

Each opposite that blanks the face of joy. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : blank
Spanish: en blanco,
German: leer,
Japanese: 白紙の
More Translations »

blank 
1230, from O.Fr. blanc "white, shining," from Frank. *blank "white, gleaming," of W.Gmc. origin (cf. O.E. blanca "white horse"), from P.Gmc. *blangkaz, from PIE *bhleg- "to shine" (see bleach). Originally "colorless," meaning "having empty spaces" evolved c.1400. Sense of "void of expression" (a blank look) is from 1553. The noun in the sense of "empty space" (in a document, etc.) is from c.1570.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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blank

In addition to the idiom beginning with blank, also see draw a blank; fill in (the blanks).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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