Definition of blanch
transitive verb
: to take the color out of Age had blanched his hair.: such asa cooking : to scald or parboil in water or steam in order to remove the skin from, whiten, or stop enzymatic action in (such as food for freezing) blanch the asparagus in salted boiling waterb : to bleach by excluding light blanch the leaves of a plantc : to make ashen or pale fear blanches the cheek
intransitive verb
: to become white or pale
blancher
nounIndulge Your Inner Word Nerd
Examples of blanch in a Sentence
Blanch the potatoes before slicing them.
a cup of blanched almonds
She blanched and remained silent when the store owner accused her of taking the money.
Recent Examples of blanch from the Web
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Two Dutch officers from the ship, on the sidewalk outside the bar, blanched, recovered, and walked on.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'blanch'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of blanch
Middle English blaunchen, from Anglo-French blanchir, from blanc, adjective, white — more at blank
First Known Use: 14th century
BLANCH Defined for English Language Learners
blanch
playDefinition of blanch for English Language Learners
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: to put (food items) in boiling water or steam for a short time
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: to suddenly have less color in your face because you are afraid, embarrassed, etc.
BLANCH Defined for Kids
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See words that rhyme with blanch Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for blanch Spanish Central: Translation of blanch Nglish: Translation of blanch for Spanish speakers
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