blind

BLYND/blaɪnd/

Adjectiveblinder, blindest

Noun pluralblinds

Verbblinds, blinding, blinded

27 meanings of blind

Practice

1
no eyesightadjective
Unable to see at all, or able to see only partially.
She has been blind since birth but moves through the city with ease.
Many blind people read using Braille.
UsageGo blind means lose your sight; the blind names blind people as a group: a school for the blind.
Similarsightless
Oppositesighted, seeing
2
not noticingadjective
Failing to recognize, acknowledge, or perceive something.
Investors were blind to the warning signs before the crash.
She remained blind to his obvious flaws.
UsageUsually blind to something: blind to the warning signs, blind to his faults.
Similaroblivious, unaware, heedless
Oppositeaware, alert, mindful
Note
Katy Perry's "Wide Awake" (2012) uses it bare, in a line where she declares herself blind no longer. There the missing to-phrase is understood: the singer is no longer blind to what was there all along.
3
window covernouncountable
A movable window covering, made of cloth or narrow slats, used to block light or let it pass through.
He adjusted the slats of the blind to let in a little light.
Wooden blinds gave the office a warm, quiet look.
UsageYou lower, raise, open or close the blinds.
Similarshade
4
take away sightverbtransitive
To deprive someone of sight, either temporarily or permanently.
The chemical splash nearly blinded the worker.
A sudden flash can blind a person long enough to cause an accident.
UsageOften passive and brief: blinded by the headlights, blinded for a moment.
Note
Robert South's sermon of 1686 plays adjective against verb: "A blind guide is certainly a great mischief; but a guide that blinds those whom he should lead" is a much greater one.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Robert South's sermon dates from 1686: it was preached on May 9, 1686. ccel.org
South uses the quoted wording, contrasting the adjective 'blind' with the verb 'blinds'; the remainder is accurately paraphrased outside quotation marks. ccel.org
5
blocked viewadjective
Having little or no visibility; offering an obstructed view.
The accident happened at a blind bend on the country road.
Slow down before the blind corner, since you can't see oncoming cars.
UsageGoes before nouns like corner, bend and spot: a blind corner, a blind spot.
Similarhidden, concealed, obscured
Note
Here it is the place that hides things, not the person who fails to see: a blind corner is one you cannot see around. Milton's "blind mazes of this tangled wood" already applies it to a landscape that closes off the view. It concerns sightlines, not exits; for the second idea, compare the dead-end meaning.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The quoted phrase occurs in John Milton's Comus, spoken by the Lady about the surrounding wood. en.wikisource.org
6
knowing nothingadjective
Acting or done without any prior knowledge or information.
The detectives went in blind, lacking any background on the suspect.
She accepted the assignment blind, knowing none of the details.
UsageVery often after go in or go into: went into the meeting blind.
Similarunprepared, uninformed
Oppositeinformed, prepared
Note
The ignorance here is about the situation, not the eyes: a blind guess is made with nothing to go on. It describes a lack of preparation rather than of judgment. Compare the "unconditional" meaning, where the failing is a refusal to weigh evidence.
7
research trialadjective
Using a study design in which information is deliberately withheld from participants to prevent bias.
The trial used a blind protocol to keep volunteers unaware of their treatment.
A blind comparison reduces the chance that expectations skew the results.
UsageAlso blinded: a blind trial, a blinded study; double-blind when the researchers do not know either.
Similarmasked
Oppositeopen
Note
A term of research method. In a blind trial, who receives what is deliberately kept from those taking part, so that expectation cannot color the outcome. Researchers also use blinded, the participle of the verb "to make blind", for the same design. The everyday ear may hear a flaw, but in a study's methods it names a safeguard.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
Blind trials deliberately withhold treatment assignments from participants and/or researchers. toolkit.ncats.nih.gov
Blinding is intended to prevent expectations from biasing study outcomes. uth.edu
8
without questionadjective
Unconditional and given without regard to evidence, logic, or reality.
Blind faith in the plan kept them from seeing its flaws.
Critics warned against blind devotion to any single theory.
UsageBefore nouns like faith, obedience and trust: blind faith, blind obedience.
Similarunquestioning, uncritical, unthinking, unconditional, implicit
Oppositecritical, reasoned
Note
John Jay's Federalist No. 2 (1787) uses it twice in one sentence, saying the plan is "neither recommended to blind approbation, nor to blind reprobation." The line is a reminder that the fault is the same whether the verdict is for or against.
9
nouncountable
A concealed shelter or screen from which people can watch or hunt wildlife, or observe others, without being seen.
From the blind, the photographer captured images of nesting herons.
The hunters waited in the duck blind before dawn.
Similarhide
Note
Hunters and field biologists share the word: the hunter's duck blind and the observer's hut serve the same purpose. Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010) describes one in detail. It is a wooden hut beside a watering hole, with long benches and a slot to peek through, invisible to the animals. Here the word names a built structure, not the act of hiding.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
Jennifer Egan wrote A Visit from the Goon Squad, first published in 2010. en.wikipedia.org
The book describes a blind beside a watering hole as a wooden hut with long benches and a viewing slot through which its occupants can watch unseen. en.wiktionary.org
10
adjective
Having no opening or exit, as a passage closed at one end or a wall with no windows or doors.
The escape route ended in a blind corridor.
The hallway ended in a blind wall with no door.
UsageCommon in a blind alley and a blind wall.
Oppositeopen
Note
Anatomy and zoology use it for any tube or cavity that stops short, as in a blind gut or a blind fistula. It also works after a verb: the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society in 1898 describes a canal "blind at both ends." The question it answers is whether something leads anywhere. Whether you can see into it is a separate matter.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
The cited volume of the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society was published in 1898. books.google.com
The journal describes a canal as “blind at both ends.” en.wiktionary.org

Less common meanings

11
adverb
Without seeing or looking, including without looking at one's cards in a card game.
The pilot flew blind until the instruments came back online.
He navigated the tunnel blind, feeling the walls with his hands.
UsageComes after the verb: fly blind, drive blind, go at it blind.
Note
Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1899) has men "going at it blind" and calls that "very proper for those who tackle a darkness." In that line, the literal want of sight and ignorance of what lies ahead run together. Conrad's phrase shows how easily the adverb drifts toward figurative use.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness, first published in 1899. en.wikipedia.org
The work contains both quoted phrases. The fictional speaker is Marlow; the item attributes them to the work. gutenberg.org
12
nouncountable
In poker, a forced bet placed before the cards are dealt (the small blind or big blind), or the player who must place it.
The player to the dealer's left posts the small blind each hand.
Rising blinds force players to act before their chips run low.
Note
Poker quotes these forced bets in pairs, small then big: "The blinds are $10 and $20, and the ante is $1." That same line shows that an ante is a separate charge that can apply alongside them. Players post blinds before the deal, which is what keeps every pot from starting empty.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
Blind amounts are conventionally listed with the small blind first and the big blind second. pokerstars.es
The quoted example occurs verbatim in Wiktionary. en.wiktionary.org
An ante is an additional contribution that can coexist with blinds. pokerstars.com
Blinds are posted before cards are dealt and provide the pot's initial money. pokerstars.com
13
completelyadverbcolloquial
Completely; totally, used to intensify another word.
He came home blind drunk after the party.
The con artist swindled the tourists blind in the market.
UsageUsed in a few fixed pairs: blind drunk, rob someone blind, swear blind.
Similarcompletely, totally, dead
14
slightestadjectivein certain phrases
Smallest or slightest; used chiefly in emphatic negative expressions to mean even the least amount.
She paid not a blind bit of attention to the gossip going around.
Their complaints did not make a blind bit of difference to the manager.
UsageUsed with not: not a blind bit of notice, not a blind bit of difference.
15
without fillingadverbin compounds
Of a pastry case, baked empty without any filling, so that the shell sets and crisps before the filling is added.
Roll out the dough, line the tin, and bake it blind until pale gold.
The recipe insists you cook the shell blind, or the wet filling will leave it soggy.
UsageWord order is flexible: bake blind, blind-bake, blind-baking.
Note
With no filling to hold it down, the pastry must be kept from puffing up. Frank Conforti recommends pricking the bottom and sides of the crust so steam can escape, and Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours (2006) calls for pie weights.
16
false frontnouncountable
Something meant to mislead the eye or mind, or to conceal a secret act or design; a subterfuge or deception.
The shell company served as a blind for the smuggling operation.
Their public dispute was a blind, staged to distract the reporters.
UsageUse a blind for to introduce what is concealed: a blind for smuggling.
Similarfront, cover, smokescreen, ruse, decoy
17
route signnouncountable
A destination sign mounted on a public transport vehicle, showing the route number, destination, name, and main stops along the way.
The driver rolled the blind around to display the new route number.
A faulty blind left passengers unsure where the tram was actually headed.
18
narrow side (rugby)nouncolloquial
In rugby, the side of the field nearer the touchline from a scrum, ruck, or maul; the narrow side.
The scrum-half darted down the blind, catching the defense napping.
A quick pass to the blind opened up space close to the touchline.
Note
Rugby talk clips blindside to blind, so players attack "down the blind" or pass "to the blind."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Blind is a colloquial short form of blindside in rugby. en.wiktionary.org
19
no flowersadjective
Of a plant or shoot, failing to produce flowers or fruit; abortive.
Gardeners cut back the blind shoots to encourage fresh flowering stems.
The daffodil bulbs turned blind after years in the same crowded bed.
UsageBulbs can come up blind or go blind.
Similarbarren, sterile, flowerless
Note
A gardener's word for growth that forms but comes to nothing: a blind bud never opens into bloom, and a blind flower sets no fruit. Bulbs and shoots can turn blind as well, staying leafy without flowering. Abortive is the more technical synonym, but in the garden blind is the everyday term for a plant that has stopped performing.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
Blind buds fail to produce flowers, and blind flowers fail to produce fruit. en.wiktionary.org
Bulbs can produce foliage without flowering. rhs.org.uk
Blind shoots can retain healthy leaves and stems while failing to flower. rhs.org.uk
Abortive is a synonym of blind in this horticultural sense. en.wiktionary.org
20
no clear tipadjective
Lacking a clearly formed head or point; not coming to a defined tip.
A blind boil throbbed beneath the skin without ever breaking the surface.
The swelling remained blind, painful but with no visible head to lance.
Note
Paul Vautin's Turn It Up! (1995) describes "the biggest, blindest, reddest pimple I'd ever seen," stacking it with other graded adjectives. Here blindest means the one showing the least sign of a head.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The quoted wording occurs in Vautin's Turn It Up!, illustrating the superlative blindest alongside biggest and reddest. en.wiktionary.org
21
verbarchaic
To darken or obscure something to the eye or mind; to conceal.
Such darkness blinds the sky.
1717, John Dryden [et al.], Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books
22
noun
A military screen or shelter built to protect troops or a position from enemy fire and observation.
23
nounobsolete
In ball games, a score of nothing; nil.
24
adjectivedated
Impossible to read, or impossible to make sense of when read.
25
adjectivedated
Of a penis, uncircumcised; still having the foreskin intact.
26
verb
To cover a freshly paved road with a thin layer of sand and fine gravel so that the joints between the stones become filled.
27
verbobsolete
To swear or use foul language, now mostly in the British phrase effing and blinding.
If you’re cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind, Don’t grouse like a woman, nor crack on, nor blind; Be handy and civil, and then you will find That it’s beer for the young British soldier.
1890, Rudyard Kipling, The Young British Soldier

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of blind apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

Proto-Germanic *blindaz became Proto-West Germanic *blind, which developed into Old English blind and then Middle English blynd.