blanket: Meaning and Definition of

blan•ket

Pronunciation: (blang'kit), [key]
— n.
  1. a large, rectangular piece of soft fabric, often with bound edges, used esp. for warmth as a bed covering.
  2. a similar piece of fabric used as a covering for a horse, dog, etc.
  3. the chief garment traditionally worn by some American Indians.
  4. any extended covering or layer: a blanket of snow.
    1. (in a press for offset printing) the rubber-covered cylinder to which an inked impression is transferred from the plate for transfer directly to the paper.
    2. (in a press for letterpress printing) the resilient covering on the cylinder against which the paper is pressed in printing.
  5. a thick roll or strip of material for thermal insulation.
  6. born out of wedlock.
—v.t.
  1. to cover with or as with a blanket: wild flowers blanketing the hillside.
  2. to obscure or obstruct; interfere with; overpower (usually fol. by out): An electrical storm blanketed out the radio program.
  3. to toss (someone) in a blanket, as in fraternity hazing.
  4. (of a vessel) to take wind from the sails of (another vessel) by passing closely to windward.
—adj.
  1. covering or intended to cover a large group or class of things, conditions, situations, etc.: a blanket proposal; a blanket indictment.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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