What does blank mean?
Blank is one of English's most versatile everyday words, functioning as an adjective, noun, and verb. As an adjective it most commonly describes surfaces — a page, a screen, a wall — that carry no writing, marks, or images, but it also characterizes faces and minds: a blank expression shows nothing, and drawing a blank means failing to remember or find something. As a noun, a blank is an empty space to be filled, especially a gap on a printed form where information must be entered, though it can also denote a harmless practice cartridge. As a verb, blanking means erasing or covering something completely, or, in British slang, pointedly ignoring someone. The word carries connotations of absence and potential at once — a blank page suggests both nothingness and possibility. Derived forms such as blankly, blankness, and blanket extend its reach across register, from casual conversation to technical contexts.
Having no writing, marks, images, or content on it; also, showing no expression, emotion, or comprehension.
"The new notebook lay open at its first blank page."
Applied to people, blank typically describes facial expression or mental state rather than appearance.
An empty space or area left to be filled in, especially on a printed form; also, a cartridge loaded without shot or bullet.
"Please write your name in the first blank."
In plural, 'the blanks' often refers collectively to all the spaces on a document to be completed.
To erase, cover over, or obscure something completely; informally, to ignore someone deliberately.
"The studio blanked out the logo before releasing the footage."
The sense 'to blank someone' (pretend not to see them) is informal and chiefly British.
Used when referring to multiple empty spaces on a form, or to multiple blank cartridges.
"The actors fired blanks during the rehearsal scene."
When you 'draw a blank,' you're echoing an old lottery: in Tudor England you literally drew a ticket that said nothing — and won nothing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of blank
Blank entered English in the early sixteenth century, borrowed from French 'blanc', meaning white or pale, which itself descends from Germanic origins (compare Old High German 'blanc' meaning shining or white). Its core idea was thus originally whiteness — an unmarked, pale surface — before shifting toward pure emptiness. The same French root gave English several other words, including blanch (to whiten by boiling), blancmange (literally 'white eating'), and even blanket, whose name reflects the white woolen cloth it was once made from. Cognates survive across European languages, notably Spanish 'blanco' and Italian 'bianco'.
Related word forms
How blank is actually used
Blank is neutral in tone and common in both everyday speech and formal writing. The informal verb sense 'to blank someone' (deliberately ignore them) is chiefly British colloquial usage. The noun sense referring to a dummy cartridge is standard in both regions.
Easily confused with blank
Flank refers to the side of a person, animal, building, or army, whereas blank refers to emptiness of content or expression.
Blanc is a French loanword meaning 'white' (as in blancmange or Mont Blanc), while blank is the ordinary English word for empty or unmarked.