blanket
Americannoun
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a large, rectangular piece of soft fabric, often with bound edges, used especially for warmth as a bed covering.
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a similar piece of fabric used as a covering for a horse, dog, etc.
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the chief garment traditionally worn by some American Indians.
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any extended covering or layer.
a blanket of snow.
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Printing.
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(in a press for offset printing) the rubber-covered cylinder to which an inked impression is transferred from the plate for transfer directly to the paper.
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(in a press for letterpress printing) the resilient covering on the cylinder against which the paper is pressed in printing.
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a thick roll or strip of material for thermal insulation.
verb (used with object)
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to cover with or as with a blanket.
wild flowers blanketing the hillside.
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to obscure or obstruct; interfere with; overpower (usually followed byout ).
An electrical storm blanketed out the radio program.
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to toss (someone) in a blanket, as in fraternity hazing.
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Nautical. (of a vessel) to take wind from the sails of (another vessel) by passing closely to windward.
adjective
idioms
noun
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a large piece of thick cloth for use as a bed covering, animal covering, etc, enabling a person or animal to retain natural body heat
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a concealing cover or layer, as of smoke, leaves, or snow
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a rubber or plastic sheet wrapped round a cylinder, used in offset printing to transfer the image from the plate, stone, or forme to the paper
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physics a layer of a fertile substance placed round the core of a nuclear reactor as a reflector or absorber and often to breed new fissionable fuel
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(modifier) applying to or covering a wide group or variety of people, conditions, situations, etc
blanket insurance against loss, injury, and theft
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informal illegitimate
verb
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to cover with or as if with a blanket; overlie
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to cover a very wide area, as in a publicity campaign; give blanket coverage
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(usually foll by out) to obscure or suppress
the storm blanketed out the TV picture
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nautical to prevent wind from reaching the sails of (another sailing vessel) by passing to windward of it
Other Word Forms
- blanketless adjective
- blanketlike adjective
- unblanketed adjective
Etymology
Origin of blanket
1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French, equivalent to blanc white ( blank ) + -et -et
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lying on a blanket spread out on the ground, we gaze up at Jupiter, one of the brightest planets in the sky.
From BBC
She finds deep pressure, like weighted blankets, helps alleviate the sensation.
From BBC
A lonely coyote stalks the barren ground around oil pump jacks; a dead deer, its eye milky white, lies on a fern-like blanket of boughs.
Firemen wrapped survivors in emergency blankets while ambulances took the more seriously injured to hospital.
From Barron's
As a powerful blizzard blankets the East Coast in snow, another force of nature is preparing to take over the chilly streets of Manhattan.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
