blank check

noun

1
: a signed check with the amount unspecified
2
: complete freedom of action or control : carte blanche

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Here’s a blank check. WIRED, 11 Oct. 2022 Even as Egypt slides deeper and deeper into economic crisis, Saudi officials have sent a stern message: No more blank checks. Vivian Yee, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2023 But there should be no blank check on anything. Rafi Schwartz, The Week, 8 Nov. 2022 This season made great use of new flying monsters, but at the same time the Upside-Down is a conceptual blank check to develop an entire bestiary of nightmare-inducing creatures. Jeff Ewing, Forbes, 1 July 2022 These brave men and women signed a blank check for each of us that included sacrificing their lives for our Freedom. Craig Shoup, The Courier-Journal, 30 Mar. 2023 There's no such thing as a blank check. Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2023 Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis, widely expected to run, said the U.S. cannot provide Ukraine an open-ended blank check. CBS News, 26 Feb. 2023 What better setting than a plainly unconstitutional assault by a feckless president going old-school politician to circumvent Congress and write a $420 billion blank check forgiving contractual debt. WSJ, 7 Dec. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'blank check.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1793, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of blank check was in 1793

Dictionary Entries Near blank check

Cite this Entry

“Blank check.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blank%20check. Accessed 7 Jun. 2023.

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