# blanket

Pronunciation: say "BLANG-kit" /ˈblæŋkɪt/

## Noun

1. A large covering of thick, loosely woven fabric, usually wool, that keeps a person warm in bed or while resting.
   - Simple: A large, warm cloth you put over yourself to stay warm in bed.
   - _He wrapped a wool blanket around his shoulders by the fire._
   - _The children dragged their blankets out to build a fort._
3. A layer of something that spreads over and covers a surface completely.
   - Simple: A thick layer of something that spreads over and covers a surface.
   - _A blanket of ash settled over the rooftops after the eruption._
   - _Beneath a blanket of fallen leaves, the path was barely visible._
8. A thick rubber mat used in offset printing to transfer ink from the plate to the paper.
   - Simple: A thick rubber mat used in printing to move ink from the plate onto the paper.
   - _A nick in the blanket left a faint line down every printed page._
   - _Press operators wash the blanket between runs to keep images sharp._
9. A streak or layer of blubber lying beneath the skin of a whale.
   - Simple: A layer of fat found under the skin of a whale.
   - _Workers stripped the blanket from the carcass in long strips._
   - _The whale's blanket yielded gallons of oil once rendered down._

## Adjective

2. General in scope, applying to all cases or members of a group without exception.
   - Simple: Covering all cases or people, with nothing left out.
   - _The company imposed a blanket policy covering every department._
   - _Critics argued the blanket restrictions ignored individual circumstances._

## Verb

4. To cover something with, or as if with, a layer spread over the top.
   - Simple: To cover something completely, like a layer spread over it.
   - _Volunteers blanket the shelter floor with spare bedding each night._
   - _Dense smoke blanketed the entire neighborhood within minutes._
5. To pass through or work through something completely, leaving no part untouched.
   - Simple: To go over every part of something completely, missing nothing.
   - _Investigators blanket the district, knocking on every door._
   - _The campaign blanketed every county before election day._
6. To suppress or cancel out the impact of a person or thing so it has no effect.
   - Simple: To stop someone or something from having any effect.
   - _Defenders blanket the league's top scorer whenever they meet._
   - _The committee's veto blanketed every proposal the group raised._
7. To overpower or drown out another radio signal, as a strong transmitter or jamming device does.
   - Simple: When one radio signal is strong enough to block out another.
   - _Powerful transmitters often blanket nearby channels across the dial._
   - _The jamming device blanketed every emergency frequency in the region._
10. To take the wind from another vessel's sails by sailing on its windward side.
   - Simple: To block the wind from another boat by sailing on its windy side.
   - _Skilled crews blanket their opponents to steal the breeze._
   - _The schooner blanketed the smaller sloop just before the finish._
11. To toss someone repeatedly into the air in a stretched blanket as a punishment.
   - Simple: To throw someone up in the air using a blanket as a punishment.
   - _Sailors would blanket any shipmate who broke the unwritten rules._
   - _The cadets blanketed the offender behind the barracks._

## Origin

It comes from Middle English 'blanket', from Old Northern French 'blanket' (meaning 'white horse' or 'white woollen cloth'), a diminutive of 'blanc' ('white'), which is of Germanic origin. The sense 'white woollen cloth' was likely a calque of Old English 'hwītel' ('blanket, cloak'), from 'hwīt' ('white') plus a diminutive suffix.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/blanket (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).