blanket

BLANG-kit/ˈblæŋkɪt/

11 meanings of blanket

1
nouncountable
A large, warm cloth you put over yourself to stay warm in bed.
Like a big warm cover that wraps around you in bed.
She pulled the blanket up to her chin and fell asleep.
We keep extra blankets in the closet for cold nights.
Similarthrow, rug
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2
adjectivebefore a noun
Covering all cases or people, with nothing left out.
Like one rule that covers everyone the same way.
The school issued a blanket rule against phones in class.
They put a blanket ban on all outside food.
Similarcomprehensive, broad, overall, sweeping, thorough
Oppositespecific, selective, targeted
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3
nouncountable
A thick layer of something that spreads over and covers a surface.
Like a soft cover lying over everything below it.
A blanket of snow covered the whole town overnight.
By morning, a thick blanket of fog hid the hills.
Similarlayer, carpet, covering, mantle, coat
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4
verbtransitivebefore a noun
To cover something completely, like a layer spread over it.
Like pulling a big sheet over everything until you can't see it.
Storms regularly blanket the coast in thick fog.
A layer of ash blanketed the town after the fire.
Similarcover, envelop, smother, carpet, cloak
Note
5
verbtransitivebefore a noun
To go over every part of something completely, missing nothing.
Like checking every corner of a room so you don't miss anything.
Search teams blanket the forest looking for the lost hiker.
Reporters blanketed the city for the big story.
Similarcomb, canvass, cover, saturate
6
verbtransitivebefore a noun
To stop someone or something from having any effect.
Like pressing a lid down so nothing can get out.
The defense managed to blanket their star player all game.
New rules blanketed the loophole that companies had used.
Similarneutralize, smother, stifle, nullify, suppress
7
verbtransitivebefore a noun
When one radio signal is strong enough to block out another.
Like a loud voice that is so strong you can't hear a quiet one.
A stronger station can blanket a weaker one on the same frequency.
The pirate transmitter blanketed the local news broadcast for hours.
Similarjam, swamp, block
8
nouncountable
A thick rubber mat used in printing to move ink from the plate onto the paper.
Like a stamp pad that picks up ink and presses it onto paper.
The printer replaced the worn blanket before the next job.
Ink builds up on the blanket and must be cleaned often.
9
nouncountable
A layer of fat found under the skin of a whale.
Like a thick coat of fat that keeps the animal warm.
The whalers cut away the thick blanket of fat.
A whale's blanket keeps it warm in icy water.
Similarblubber
10
verbtransitivebefore a noun
To block the wind from another boat by sailing on its windy side.
Like standing between a friend and a fan so the breeze never reaches them.
The lead boat tried to blanket its rival near the buoy.
She blanketed the other yacht and pulled ahead.
11
verbtransitivebefore a noun
To throw someone up in the air using a blanket as a punishment.
Like bouncing someone high off a sheet, but done to punish them.
The older boys threatened to blanket the new recruit.
They blanketed the prankster until he begged them to stop.
Note

Practice

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Origin

It comes from an old French word 'blanket', a small form of 'blanc' meaning 'white'. So it first meant white woollen cloth.