blank
blank /bl'æŋk/ (blanks blanking blanked)
1 [ADJ]
Something that is blank has nothing on it.
We could put some of the pictures over on that blank wall over there...
He tore a blank page from his notebook.
...blank cassettes.
2 [N-COUNT]
A blank is a space which is left in a piece of writing or on a printed form for you to fill in particular information.
Put a word in each blank to complete the sentence.
3 [ADJ]
If you look blank, your face shows no feeling, understanding, or interest.
Abbot looked blank. `I don't quite follow, sir.'...
His daughter gave him a blank look.
● blankly [ADV] ADV with v
She stared at him blankly.
● blankness [N-UNCOUNT]
His eyes have the blankness of someone half-asleep.
4 [N-SING] a N
If your mind or memory is a blank, you cannot think of anything or remember anything.
I'm sorry, but my mind is a blank...
I came round in hospital and did not know where I was. Everything was a complete blank.
5 [N-COUNT] usu pl
Blanks are gun cartridges which contain explosive but do not contain a bullet, so that they cause no harm when the gun is fired.
...a starter pistol which only fires blanks.
6
see also point-blank
7 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you draw a blank when you are looking for someone or something, you do not succeed in finding them. (INFORMAL)
They drew a blank in their search for the driver.
8 [PHRASE] V inflects
If your mind goes blank, you are suddenly unable to think of anything appropriate to say, for example in reply to a question.
My mind went totally blank.blank cheque (blank cheques)
in AM, use blank check
1 [N-COUNT]
If someone is given a blank cheque, they are given the authority to spend as much money as they need or want. (JOURNALISM)
We are not prepared to write a blank cheque for companies that have run into trouble.
2 [N-COUNT]
If someone is given a blank cheque, they are given the authority to do what they think is best in a particular situation. (JOURNALISM)
He was, in a sense, given a blank cheque to negotiate the new South Africa.
= carte blancheblank out
[PHRASAL VERB] V n P, V P n (not pron)
If you blank out a particular feeling or thought, you do not allow yourself to experience that feeling or to have that thought.
I learned to blank those feelings out...
I was trying to blank out previous situations from my mind.
= block outblank verse
[N-UNCOUNT]
Blank verse is poetry that does not rhyme. In English literature it usually consists of lines with five stressed syllables.
1 [ADJ]
Something that is blank has nothing on it.
We could put some of the pictures over on that blank wall over there...
He tore a blank page from his notebook.
...blank cassettes.
2 [N-COUNT]
A blank is a space which is left in a piece of writing or on a printed form for you to fill in particular information.
Put a word in each blank to complete the sentence.
3 [ADJ]
If you look blank, your face shows no feeling, understanding, or interest.
Abbot looked blank. `I don't quite follow, sir.'...
His daughter gave him a blank look.
● blankly [ADV] ADV with v
She stared at him blankly.
● blankness [N-UNCOUNT]
His eyes have the blankness of someone half-asleep.
4 [N-SING] a N
If your mind or memory is a blank, you cannot think of anything or remember anything.
I'm sorry, but my mind is a blank...
I came round in hospital and did not know where I was. Everything was a complete blank.
5 [N-COUNT] usu pl
Blanks are gun cartridges which contain explosive but do not contain a bullet, so that they cause no harm when the gun is fired.
...a starter pistol which only fires blanks.
6
see also point-blank
7 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you draw a blank when you are looking for someone or something, you do not succeed in finding them. (INFORMAL)
They drew a blank in their search for the driver.
8 [PHRASE] V inflects
If your mind goes blank, you are suddenly unable to think of anything appropriate to say, for example in reply to a question.
My mind went totally blank.blank cheque (blank cheques)
in AM, use blank check
1 [N-COUNT]
If someone is given a blank cheque, they are given the authority to spend as much money as they need or want. (JOURNALISM)
We are not prepared to write a blank cheque for companies that have run into trouble.
2 [N-COUNT]
If someone is given a blank cheque, they are given the authority to do what they think is best in a particular situation. (JOURNALISM)
He was, in a sense, given a blank cheque to negotiate the new South Africa.
= carte blancheblank out
[PHRASAL VERB] V n P, V P n (not pron)
If you blank out a particular feeling or thought, you do not allow yourself to experience that feeling or to have that thought.
I learned to blank those feelings out...
I was trying to blank out previous situations from my mind.
= block outblank verse
[N-UNCOUNT]
Blank verse is poetry that does not rhyme. In English literature it usually consists of lines with five stressed syllables.