| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| blank |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  bl ngk |
| ADJECTIVE: | Inflected forms: blank·er, blank·est
1a. Devoid of writing, images, or marks: a blank page; a blank screen. b. Containing no information; unrecorded or erased: a blank tape; a blank diskette. 2. Not completed or filled in: a blank questionnaire. 3. Not having received final processing; unfinished: a blank key. 4a. Lacking expression; expressionless: “Although his gestures were elaborate, his face was blank” (Nathanael West). See synonyms at empty. b. 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. | | NOUN: | 1. An empty space or place; a void: During the exam my mind was a blank. 2a. An empty space on a document to be filled in. b. 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. | | VERB: | Inflected forms: blanked, blank·ing, blanks
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 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. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | 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. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, white, having spaces to be filled in, from Old French blanc, white, of Germanic origin. See bhel-1 in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | blank ly —ADVERB
blankness —NOUN
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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