Blank has 13 different meanings across 4 categories:
Noun · Verb · Adjective · Proper Noun
a piece of material ready to be made into something
"The tailor cut the pattern from the blank fabric before sewing it into a new dress."
a cartridge containing an explosive charge but no bullet
"The hunter checked his rifle and found he had fired all his live rounds, leaving him with nothing but blanks to finish the target practice session."
A small French coin, originally of silver, afterwards of copper, worth 5 deniers; also a silver coin of Henry V current in the parts of France then held by the English, worth about 8 pence .
"The collector was thrilled to find an authentic blank from Henry V's reign among the scattered coins at the flea market."
In plain English: A blank is an empty space where something is missing or has not been filled in yet.
"The driver was pulled over for holding a blank piece of paper instead of his license."
Usage: Use "blank" as a noun only when referring to an empty space on a form or document where information is missing. Do not use it to describe historical French coins, as that is a specialized archaic meaning unrelated to modern everyday usage.
keep the opposing (baseball) team from winning
"The pitcher threw a perfect game to blank the visiting squad without allowing any runs."
To make void; to erase.
"The judge ruled that the forged signature was blank, effectively making the contract void from the moment it was discovered."
In plain English: To blank means to suddenly forget something important, like your friend's name right when you are about to say it.
"He blanked out completely during his presentation and forgot what he was going to say next."
Usage: Use "blank" as a verb when you mean to fill in a form with nothing or to leave a space empty. Do not use it to describe erasing written text, which requires words like "erase" or "delete."
without comprehension
"When I called her name, she gave me a blank look, as though she didn't know me"
White or pale; without colour.
"The old man's face turned completely blank after hearing the shocking news."
In plain English: Blank means having no information, ideas, or feelings inside your mind at that moment.
"The student stared at the blank page, unsure where to begin."
Usage: Use blank to describe something that lacks color, such as a white sheet of paper or a pale sky. Do not use it to mean empty or devoid of content, which is the more common everyday usage for this word.
A surname.
"She introduced herself as Mary Blank at the conference."
The word "blank" comes from the Frankish language through Middle and Anglo-Norman French, where it originally meant "gleaming," "white," or "blinding." While its core sense of whiteness has remained consistent in English, the term eventually broadened to describe anything empty or devoid of content.