blank
/blænk/adjective, noun, verb
blank is spelled B-L-A-N-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,679th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, blank means “Free from writing, printing, or marks; having an empty space to be filled in” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in blank?
| Letters | 5: B-L-A-N-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 14 times per million words; the 5,679th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is blank?
Blank appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,679th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce blank?
- UK /blænk/
- British /blaŋk/
- Australia /blæːnk/
Blank has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-blank.wav, En-au-blank.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with blank?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as blank from its last stressed vowel (/ænk/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of blank
- blanker comparative
- more blank comparative
- blankest superlative
- most blank superlative
- blanks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- blanking participle, present
- blanked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does blank mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
archaicWhite or pale; without colour.
- 2
Free from writing, printing, or marks; having an empty space to be filled in.
blank paper
- 3
Lacking characteristics which give variety; uniform.
a blank desert; a blank wall; blank unconsciousness
- 4
Abject; absolute; complete; downright; sheer; utter.
a blank refusal to cooperate
- 5
Without expression, usually because of incomprehension.
a blank glassy look
- 6
Utterly confounded or discomfited.
- 7
Empty; void; without result; fruitless; futile.
a blank day
- 8
Devoid of thoughts, memory, or inspiration.
The shock left his memory blank.
noun
- 1
archaicobsoleteA 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.
- 2
obsoleteA nonplus.
- 3
The white spot in the centre of a target; hence (figuratively) the object to which anything is directed or aimed, the range of such aim.
- 4
A lot by which nothing is gained; a ticket in a lottery on which no prize is indicated.
- 5
A space to be filled in on a form or template.
Write your answers in the blanks.
- 6
Provisional words printed in italics (instead of blank spaces) in a bill before Parliament, being matters of practical detail, of which the final form is to be settled in committee.
- 7
USA document, paper, or form with spaces left blank to be filled in at the pleasure of the person to whom it is given (e.g. a blank charter, ballot, form, contract, etc.), or as the event may determine; a blank form.
- 8
USAn empty form without substance; anything insignificant; nothing at all.
verb
- 1
To make void; to erase.
I blanked out my previous entry.
- 2
slangTo ignore (a person) deliberately.
She blanked me for no reason.
- 3
To render ineffective by blanketing with turbulent airflow, such as from aircraft wake or reverse thrust.
At high angles of attack, the shuttle’s rudder is blanked by the fuselage and wings, forcing it to use its RCS thrusters for yaw control.
- 4
To prevent from scoring; for example, in a sporting event.
The team was blanked.
- 5
To become blank.
- 6
informalTo experience a temporary lapse of memory; to be temporarily unable to remember a particular fact. (Commonly used in the first person, present progressive tense, and commonly followed by on to create a transitive phrasal verb.)
I’m blanking on her name right now.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Blank in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | ausdruckslos , unbeschrieben, unausgefüllt , Lücke , Rohling , Leerzeichen |
| Spanish | en blanco , espacio en blanco, casilla , espacio , de fogueo , cartucho de fogueo |
| French | blanc, vierge , préforme , espace , balles à blanc , balle à blanc |
| Portuguese | em branco, virgem , espaço , bala de festim , branco, lacuna |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does blank come from?
From Middle English blank, blonc, blaunc, blaunche, from Anglo-Norman blonc, blaunc, blaunche, from Old French blanc, feminine blanche, from Frankish *blank (“gleaming, white, blinding”), from Proto-Germanic *blankaz (“white, bright, blinding”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleyǵ- (“to shine”). Akin to Old High German blanch (“shining, bright, white”) (German blank), Old English blanc (“white, grey”), blanca (“white steed”), Spanish blanco. More at blink, blind, blanch. Doublet of blanc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).