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blanket definition

blan·ket (blaŋk′it)

noun

  1. a large piece of cloth, often of soft wool, used for warmth as a bed cover or a covering for animals
  2. anything used as or resembling a blanket; covering a blanket of leaves

Etymology: ME < OFr blanchet, dim. of blanc, white: see blank

adjective

covering a group of conditions or requirements; including many or all items a blanket insurance policy

transitive verb

  1. to cover with or as with a blanket; overspread; overlie
  2. to apply uniformly to: said of regulations or rates
  3. to cut off wind from the sails of (another boat) by passing close to windward, as in yacht racing
  4. to suppress; hinder; obscure a powerful radio station blankets a weaker one
  5. Archaic to toss in a blanket, as in punishment

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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