Word
blanket
Phoneticsblan·ket
US/ˈbɫæŋkət/
UK/blˈæŋkɪt/
Definitions
01bedding
n. a large piece of thick cloth that you use on a bed to keep warm.
n. a large piece of typically woollen or synthetic fabric used as a bed covering for thermal insulation.
“It was a cold night, so I put an extra blanket on the bed.”
“The hotel provides woollen blankets in the wardrobe for guests who prefer traditional bedding over the standard synthetic duvets.”
02a covering layer
n. a thick layer of something that covers the ground or an area.
n. a thick, uniform layer of a substance that covers a surface or landscape.
“A thick blanket of snow covered the fields and the trees.”
“By dawn, a heavy blanket of fog had settled over the valley, reducing visibility to less than ten metres for morning commuters.”
03applying to everything
adj. describing something that covers all cases or people without any exceptions.
adj. applying to all conditions, instances, or members of a group; used attributively before a noun.
“The company has a blanket ban on smoking anywhere in the building.”
“The regulator issued a blanket warning to all financial institutions regarding the increased risk of sophisticated phishing attacks during the holiday season.”
Usage
Always used before a noun.
Synonyms
04to cover completely
v. to cover an area with a thick layer of something.
v. to cover a surface or area with a uniform layer; often used in the passive voice.
“The volcanic ash started to blanket the nearby villages.”
“The marketing campaign was designed to blanket the city with advertisements, ensuring that every resident would encounter the brand at least once.”
Real-World Examples
“Social media companies generally oppose blanket bans, arguing that they already have measures to protect younger users, including a minimum age of 13.” “Bethan Earley, from Rugby, told us she kept her home cool by putting foil blankets on the outside of her windows before closing them.” “These contaminants settle in ductwork, walls, carpets and furniture, as well as on clothing, blankets and toys.” Etymology
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”)).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related words
Idioms
blanket term — A word or phrase that is used to describe multiple groups of related things.
put a blanket over — Make (something) seem less serious.
throw a wet blanket on — To discredit; to spoil or disparage.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/blanket