blanket
n. · adj. · v.-
1 bedding (n.) A2 Elementarya large piece of thick cloth that you use on a bed to keep warm.
a large piece of typically woollen or synthetic fabric used as a bed covering for thermal insulation.
ExampleIt was a cold night, so I put an extra blanket on the bed.
ExampleThe hotel provides woollen blankets in the wardrobe for guests who prefer traditional bedding over the standard synthetic duvets.
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2 a covering layer (n.) B1 Intermediatea thick layer of something that covers the ground or an area.
a thick, uniform layer of a substance that covers a surface or landscape.
ExampleA thick blanket of snow covered the fields and the trees.
ExampleBy dawn, a heavy blanket of fog had settled over the valley, reducing visibility to less than ten metres for morning commuters.
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3 applying to everything (adj.) B2 Upper Intermediatedescribing something that covers all cases or people without any exceptions.
applying to all conditions, instances, or members of a group; used attributively before a noun.
ExampleThe company has a blanket ban on smoking anywhere in the building.
ExampleThe regulator issued a blanket warning to all financial institutions regarding the increased risk of sophisticated phishing attacks during the holiday season.
UsageAlways used before a noun.
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4 to cover completely (v.) B2 Upper Intermediateto cover an area with a thick layer of something.
to cover a surface or area with a uniform layer; often used in the passive voice.
ExampleThe volcanic ash started to blanket the nearby villages.
ExampleThe marketing campaign was designed to blanket the city with advertisements, ensuring that every resident would encounter the brand at least once.
Inherited from Middle English blanket, blonket, blaunket, from Old Northern French blanket, blancet (“white horse", also "white woollen cloth or flannel; a type of jacket”, literally “that which is white”) (whence Modern French blanchet), diminutive of blanc (“white”), of Germanic origin (compare Old English blanca (“white horse”); see more at blank). Furthermore, the sense "white woollen cloth" is likely a calque of Old English hwītel (“blanket; cloak, mantle”), from Old English hwīt (“white”) + -el (diminutive suffix). Compare also Old Norse hvítill (“a white bed-cover, sheet”), Norwegian kvitel (“blanket”). Compare also blunket, plunket. Displaced native Middle English whytel, from Old English hwītel (whence Modern English whittle (“blanket, cloak, shawl”)).