Blanket

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈblæŋkɪt/
• Rhymes: -æŋkɪt

Origin

Old French blanchet, diminutive of blanc ("white").

Full definition of blanket

Noun

1. A heavy, loosely woven fabric, usually large and woollen, used for warmth while sleeping or resting.The baby was cold, so his mother put a blanket over him.
• 1922, Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room Chapter 1The little boys in the front bedroom had thrown off their blankets and lay under the sheets.
2. A layer of anything.The city woke under a thick blanket of fog.
3. A thick rubber mat used in the offset printing process to transfer ink from the plate to the paper being printed.A press operator must carefully wash the blanket whenever changing a plate.
4. A streak or layer of blubber in whales.

Derived terms

• blankie, blanky
• security blanket
• smallpox blanket
• wet blanket

Adjective

1. In general; covering or encompassing everything.They sought to create a blanket solution for all situations.a blanket ban

Verb

1. (transitive) To cover with, or as if with, a blanket.
• ShakespeareI'll ... blanket my loins.
2. A fresh layer of snow blanketed the area.
• 1884: Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapter VIIII see the moon go off watch, and the darkness begin to blanket the river.
3. (transitive) To traverse or complete thoroughly.The salesman blanketed the entire neighborhood.
4. To toss in a blanket by way of punishment.
• Ben JonsonWe'll have our men blanket 'em i' the hall.
5. To take the wind out of the sails of (another vessel) by sailing to windward of her.