I. blank 1 S3 /blæŋk/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: blanc ; ⇨ ↑ blanch ]
1 . without any writing, print, or recorded sound:
Leave the last page blank.
a blank cassette
2 . a blank face or look shows no emotion, understanding, or interest ⇨ blankly
blank face/look/expression/eyes
Zoe looked at me with a blank expression.
She gazed at him in blank astonishment.
3 . go blank
a) if your mind goes blank, or if you go blank, you are suddenly unable to remember something:
My heart began to race and my mind went blank.
b) to stop showing any images, writing etc:
Suddenly the screen went blank.
—blankness noun [uncountable]
⇨ ↑ blank verse
• • •
THESAURUS
■ with nothing in it or on it
▪ empty used about something that has nothing inside:
an empty can of hair spray
|
The fridge is almost empty.
▪ blank used about a computer screen or a piece of paper that has no writing or pictures on it, or a CD, DVD etc with nothing recorded on it:
a blank sheet of paper
|
He stared at the blank screen for a few minutes.
|
a blank tape
▪ bare used about a room or cupboard that has very little in it:
His room was bare except for a bed and a wardrobe.
▪ hollow used about something that has an empty space inside:
a hollow tree
|
The suitcase had a hollow bottom.
II. blank 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . an empty space on a piece of paper, where you are supposed to write a word or letter:
When you’ve filled in the blanks, hand the form back to me.
2 . my mind’s a blank spoken used to say that you cannot remember something:
I’m trying to think of his name, but my mind’s a complete blank.
3 . a ↑ cartridge (=container for a bullet in a gun) that contains an explosive but no bullet:
Soldiers fired blanks into the crowd.
4 . be shooting/firing blanks informal if a man is shooting blanks or firing blanks, his ↑ sperm is not able to make a woman ↑ pregnant
⇨ draw a blank at ↑ draw 1 (32)
III. blank 3 BrE AmE verb
1 . ( also blank out ) [intransitive] informal if you blank, or if your mind blanks, you are suddenly unable to remember something:
I just blanked in the oral exam.
2 . [transitive] British English informal to ignore someone who you would usually greet or speak to:
Last time I saw Mike Adams he completely blanked me.
blank something ↔ out phrasal verb
1 . to cover something so that it cannot be seen:
The actual names had been blanked out.
2 . to completely forget something, especially deliberately:
I tried to blank out everything he had said.