# blanketing

Pronunciation: say "BLANG-kit-ing" US /ˈble(ɪ)ŋkɪtɪŋ/, UK /ˈblæŋkɪtɪŋ/; AUS say "BLANG-kuh-ting"

## Noun

1. A covering layer of something that spreads over a surface the way a blanket does.
   - Simple: A covering layer that spreads over something like a blanket.
   - _A blanketing of fresh powder muffled every sound in the forest._
   - _The volcano left a fine blanketing of dust across nearby towns._
3. Woolen or similar cloth used for making blankets.
   - Simple: Cloth that is used to make blankets.
   - _The factory wove heavy blanketing for the winter market._
   - _Tailors cut the warm blanketing into large rectangles._
4. A layer laid beneath the trackbed to keep clay subsoil and water from being pushed to the surface by the weight of trains.
   - Simple: A protective layer placed under railway tracks to stop mud and water from rising up.
   - _Engineers specified blanketing along the marshy section to protect the line._
   - _The old route failed because its blanketing had broken down over decades._
5. A maneuver in which one vessel covers another's sails, robbing it of wind and leaving it becalmed. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A sailing move where one boat blocks the wind from another boat's sails.
   - _The crew won the leg through careful blanketing of the second-place yacht._
   - _Good blanketing near the mark left their rival drifting without wind._
6. The act of tossing a person repeatedly into the air from a stretched blanket, whether in sport or as a punishment.
   - Simple: Throwing a person into the air with a stretched blanket, as a joke or punishment.
   - _The midshipmen gave the latecomer a thorough blanketing on deck._
   - _After the prank, the team threatened him with a blanketing in the locker room._

## Verb

2. Present participle of blanket. — present participle and gerund of blanket
   - Simple: Present participle of blanket. Use this -ing form for an action happening now or going on over time.
   - _Clouds were blanketing the entire valley as we drove down._
   - _Volunteers spent the night blanketing the shelter beds against the cold._

## Origin

Formed within English from the word "blanket" combined with the suffix "-ing".

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