What does blank mean?

Definitions for blank
blæŋkblank

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word blank.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. space, blanknoun

    a blank character used to separate successive words in writing or printing

    "he said the space is the most important character in the alphabet"

  2. lacuna, blanknoun

    a blank gap or missing part

  3. blanknoun

    a piece of material ready to be made into something

  4. blank, dummy, blank shelladjective

    a cartridge containing an explosive charge but no bullet

  5. blank, clean, whiteadjective

    (of a surface) not written or printed on

    "blank pages"; "fill in the blank spaces"; "a clean page"; "wide white margins"

  6. blank, vacuousadjective

    void of expression

    "a blank stare"

  7. blankverb

    not charged with a bullet

    "a blank cartridge"

  8. blankverb

    keep the opposing (baseball) team from winning

Wiktionary

  1. blanknoun

    A bullet that does not harm; a cartridge inserted into a gun that fires no projectile.

  2. blanknoun

    A void space on a paper.

  3. blanknoun

    A space to be filled in on a form or template.

  4. blanknoun

    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.

  5. blanknoun

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

  6. blanknoun

    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.

  7. blanknoun

    The space character; the character resulting from pressing the space-bar on a keyboard.

  8. blankverb

    To make void; to erase.

    I blanked out my previous entry.

  9. blankverb

    To ignore.

    She blanked me for no reason.

  10. blankverb

    To prevent from scoring, as in a sporting event.

    The team was blanked.

  11. blankverb

    To become blank.

  12. blankadjective

    Without color; lacking characteristics which give variety.

  13. blankadjective

    Free from writing, printing, or marks; having an empty space to be filled in; as, blank paper; a blank check; a blank ballot.

  14. blankadjective

    Without expression.

    When asked, his answer was a blank stare. When asked again his stare was even more blank.

  15. Etymology: blank, blonc, blaunc, blaunche, from blonc, blaunc, blaunche from blanc, feminine blanche, of origin, from *blank "gleaming, white, blinding" from blankaz, from bhleg-. Akin to blanch (blank), blanc, blanca, blink, blind. See also blink, blind and blanch.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. BLANKadjective

    Etymology: blanc, Fr. derived by Gilles Ménage from Albianus, thus: Albianus, albianicus, bianicus, biancus, bianco, blanicut, blancus, blanc; by others, from blanc, which, in Danish, signifies shining; in conformity to which, the Germans have blancker, to shine; the Saxons, blæcan; and the English, bleach, to whiten.

    To the blank moon
    Her office they prescrib’d: to th’ other five
    Their planetary motions. Parad. Lost, b. x. l. 656.

    Our substitutes at home shall have blank charters,
    Whereto, when they know that men are rich,
    They shall subscribe them for large sums of gold. William Shakespeare, Richard II.

    Upon the debtor side, I find innumerable articles; but, upon the creditor side, little more than blank paper. Joseph Addison, Spectat.

    There without such boast, or sign of joy,
    Solicitous and blank, he thus began. Par. Regained, b. ii.

    Adam soon as he heard
    The fatal trespass done by Eve, amaz’d,
    Astonied stood, and blank, while horrour chill
    Ran through his veins, and all his joints relax’d. John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. ix. l. 888.

    But now no face divine contentment wears;
    ’Tis all blank sadness, or continual fears. Alexander Pope.

    The lady shall say her mind freely, or the blank verse shall halt for it. William Shakespeare, Hamlet.

    Long have your ears been fill’d with tragick parts;
    Blood and blank verse have harden’d all your hearts. Joseph Addison, Drummer, Prologue.

    Our blank verse, where there is no rhime to support the expression, is extremely difficult to such as are not masters in the tongue. Joseph Addison, Remarks on Italy.

  2. Blanknoun

    Etymology: from the adjective.

    I cannot write a paper full as I used to do; and yet I will not forgive a blank of half an inch from you. Jonathan Swift.

    If you have heard your general talk of Rome,
    And of his friends there, it is lots to blanks
    My name hath touch’d your ears. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

    In fortune’s lottery lies
    A heap of blanks, like this, for one small prize. Dryden.

    The world the coward will despise,
    When life’s a blank, who pulls not for a prize. Dryden.

    She has left him
    The blank of what he was;
    I tell thee, eunuch, she has quite unmann’d him. Dryden.

    For him, I think not on him; for his thoughts,
    Would they were blanks, rather than fill’d with me. William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night.

    Omission to do what is necessary,
    Seals a commission to a blank of danger. William Shakespeare, Tr. and Cr.

    For the book of knowledge fair,
    Presented with an universal blank
    Of nature’s works, to me expung’d and ras’d. Par. Lost.

    A life so spent is one great blank, which, though not blotted with sin, is yet without any characters of grace or virtue. John Rogers, serm. xii.

    Slander,
    Whose whisper o’er the world’s diameter,
    As level as the cannon to his blank,
    Transports its poison’d shot. William Shakespeare, Hamlet.

    The harlot king
    Is quite beyond my aim; out of the blank
    And level of my brain. William Shakespeare, Winter’s Tale.

    I have spoken for you all my best,
    And stood within the blank of his displeasure,
    For my free speech. William Shakespeare, Othello.

    See better, Lear, and let me still remain
    The true blank of thine. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

  3. To Blankverb

    Etymology: from blank; blanchir, Fr.

    Each opposite, that blanks the face of joy,
    Meet what I would have well, and it destroy. William Shakespeare, Haml.

    Dagon must stoop, and shall ere long receive
    Such a discomfit, as shall quite despoil him
    Of all these boasted trophies won on me,
    And with confusion blank his worshippers. John Milton, Agonist.

    If the atheist, when he dies, should find that his soul remains, how will this man be amazed and blanked? John Tillotson.

    All former purposes were blanked, the governour at a bay, and all that charge lost and cancelled. Edmund Spenser, on Ireland.

ChatGPT

  1. blank

    Blank often refers to an empty or vacant space, an unmarked or unassigned spot, or the absence of written or printed matter on a page. It can also mean an instance in which a person fails to remember or respond, like drawing a blank. In different contexts, blank may have other specific definitions.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Blankadjective

    of a white or pale color; without color

  2. Blankadjective

    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. Blankadjective

    utterly confounded or discomfited

  4. Blankadjective

    empty; void; without result; fruitless; as, a blank space; a blank day

  5. Blankadjective

    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. Blankadjective

    lacking animation and intelligence, or their associated characteristics, as expression of face, look, etc.; expressionless; vacant

  7. Blankadjective

    absolute; downright; unmixed; as, blank terror

  8. Blanknoun

    any void space; a void space on paper, or in any written instrument; an interval void of consciousness, action, result, etc; a void

  9. Blanknoun

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

  10. Blanknoun

    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

  11. Blanknoun

    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

  12. Blanknoun

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

  13. Blanknoun

    aim; shot; range

  14. Blanknoun

    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

  15. Blanknoun

    a piece of metal prepared to be made into something by a further operation, as a coin, screw, nuts

  16. Blanknoun

    a piece or division of a piece, without spots; as, the "double blank"; the "six blank."

  17. Blankverb

    to make void; to annul

  18. Blankverb

    to blanch; to make blank; to damp the spirits of; to dispirit or confuse

Wikidata

  1. Blank

    A blank is a type of cartridge for a firearm that contains gunpowder but no bullet or shot. When fired, the blank makes a flash and an explosive sound. Blanks are often used for simulation, training, for signaling, and Cowboy Mounted Shooting. Blank cartridges differ from dummy cartridges, which are used for training or function testing firearms; these contain no primer or gunpowder, and are inert. Specialized blank cartridges are also used for their propellant force in fields as varied as construction, shooting sports, and fishing.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Blank

    blangk, adj. without writing or marks, as in white paper: empty, empty of results: vacant, confused: (poetry) not having rhyme.—n. a paper without writing: a lottery-ticket having no mark, and therefore valueless: an empty space, a void, or vacancy: (archery) the white mark in the centre of a target at which an arrow is aimed, hence the object or aim of anything: a form of document having blank spaces afterwards to be filled in.—v.t. to make pale: (Milton) to confuse.—n. Blank′-cart′ridge, a cartridge without a bullet.—p.adj. Blanked, a minced form of damned, from the usual form of printing d——d.—adv. Blank′ly.—ns. Blank′ness; Blank′-verse, verse without rhyme, esp. the heroic verse of five feet. [Fr. blanc, from root of Ger. blinken, to glitter—Old High Ger. blichen, Gr. phlegein, to shine.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. blank

    Level line mark for cannon, as point-blank, equal to 800 yards. It was also the term for the white mark in the centre of a butt, at which the arrow was aimed.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. blank

    The point of a target at which aim is taken, marked with a white spot; hence, the object to which anything is directed.

Suggested Resources

  1. blank

    Song lyrics by blank -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by blank on the Lyrics.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. BLANK

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Blank is ranked #2765 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Blank surname appeared 13,050 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 would have the surname Blank.

    94.7% or 12,361 total occurrences were White.
    2.1% or 277 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1.2% or 162 total occurrences were Black.
    0.9% or 128 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    0.6% or 78 total occurrences were Asian.
    0.3% or 44 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'blank' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3113

  2. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'blank' in Adjectives Frequency: #768

How to pronounce blank?

How to say blank in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of blank in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of blank in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of blank in a Sentence

  1. Denita Gadson:

    I'm here today because I care about small business, point blank.

  2. Lindsey Graham:

    What is the environmental policy of the Republican Party? When I ask that question, I get a blank stare, if I'm president of the United States, we're going to address climate change and CO2 emissions in a business-friendly way.

  3. Pat Elphinstone:

    The human brain is like a TV set. When it goes blank, it's time to turn off the sound.

  4. Ruby Barnett:

    If she didn’t like the color red, she would tell you. She was just point blank.

  5. Edward Steichen:

    You know...that a blank wall is an apalling thing to look at. The wall of a museum -- a canvas -- a piece of film -- or a guy sitting in front of a typewriter. Then, you start out to do something -- that vague thing called creation. The beginning strikes awe within you.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

blank#1#3961#10000

Translations for blank

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • الخالي, فارغ, خالٍArabic
  • празнина, бланка, шпация, непопълнен, празно място, формуляр, заготовка, неизписан, интервал, безцветен, празен, бял, изтривам, изличавам, бия на нулаBulgarian
  • mezeraCzech
  • ubeskrevet, tom, [[løs]] [[patron]], blanko-, mellemrum, hvid, blank, rubrik, råemne, farveløs, stregeDanish
  • unausgefüllt, ausdruckslos, Platzpatrone, unbeschrieben, LeerzeichenGerman
  • espacio, en blanco, blanco, cartucho de fogueo, bala de salva, espacio en blanco, blanquear, borrarSpanish
  • tühiEstonian
  • ilmeetön, räkäpää, [[tyhjä]] [[tila]], väritön, tyhjämerkki, välilyönti, tyhjä, paukkupatruuna, aihioFinnish
  • [[cartouche]] [[à blanc]], espace, [[balle]] [[à blanc]], préforme, vierge, blancFrench
  • isian, peluru kosongIndonesian
  • vakuaIdo
  • 空包, からの, 空Japanese
  • სუფთაGeorgian
  • 공백Korean
  • blankLatin
  • mellomromNorwegian
  • losse flodder, spatieDutch
  • mellomromNorwegian Nynorsk
  • blankNorwegian
  • puste miejsce, niewypełniony, niezapisany, niezadrukowany, ślepy nabój, spacja, pusty, bezbarwny, czystyPolish
  • lacuna, em brancoPortuguese
  • necompletat, nescris, loc gol, curat, neexpresiv, inexpresiv, cartuș orbRomanian
  • пустой, пустота, пробел, бесцветный, белый, заготовка, чистый, бледный, [[холостой]] [[патрон]], холостой, болванка, [[пустой, неисписанный, пропуск, незаполненный, стереть, стиратьRussian
  • tom, lös patron, mellanslag, blank, blankaSwedish
  • boşTurkish
  • ПороUkrainian
  • 空白Chinese

Get even more translations for blank »

Translation

Find a translation for the blank definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"blank." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/blank>.

Discuss these blank definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for blank? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    be hungry; go without food
    A loom
    B famish
    C abide
    D embellish

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for blank: