1
: a piece of blotting paper
2
: a book in which entries (as of transactions or occurrences) are made temporarily pending their transfer to permanent record books
police blotter
Examples of blotter in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
An oil or grease stain can be cleaned using paper and then a blotter with perchloroethylene.
—
Samantha S. Thorpe, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Oct. 2023
On April 21, 2017, New York State Police arrested him on a misdemeanor charge of criminal obstruction of breathing, according to a contemporary police blotter report in The Saratogian, a local newspaper.
—Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 3 Oct. 2023
Get police blotters by email every weekday for free with our new Police Blotter newsletter.
—cleveland, 19 Sep. 2023
Fentanyl can be snorted, smoked, taken orally by pill or tablet, spiked onto blotter paper or taken via patches.
—The Dallas Morning News, Dallas News, 1 Sep. 2023
Graves did not observe the event himself but said a witness came to his organization, Americans for Safe Aerospace, with a firsthand account and evidence including police blotters and other documentation.
—Alexandra E. Petri, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2023
News is not just crime blotters, traffic accidents, government decrees, natural disasters and sunshine — or not.
—Diane Bell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 July 2023
The arrest took place last Wednesday, according to the department’s police blotter.
—Khari Thompson, BostonGlobe.com, 25 July 2023
McCurtain County, which once led the state in homicides, also produces more sinister blotter items: a man cashed his dead mother’s Social Security checks for more than a year; a man killed a woman with a hunting bow and two arrows; a man raped a woman in front of her baby.
—Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 24 July 2023
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Samantha S. Thorpe, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Oct. 2023
On April 21, 2017, New York State Police arrested him on a misdemeanor charge of criminal obstruction of breathing, according to a contemporary police blotter report in The Saratogian, a local newspaper.
—Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 3 Oct. 2023
Get police blotters by email every weekday for free with our new Police Blotter newsletter.
—cleveland, 19 Sep. 2023
Fentanyl can be snorted, smoked, taken orally by pill or tablet, spiked onto blotter paper or taken via patches.
—The Dallas Morning News, Dallas News, 1 Sep. 2023
Graves did not observe the event himself but said a witness came to his organization, Americans for Safe Aerospace, with a firsthand account and evidence including police blotters and other documentation.
—Alexandra E. Petri, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2023
News is not just crime blotters, traffic accidents, government decrees, natural disasters and sunshine — or not.
—Diane Bell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 July 2023
The arrest took place last Wednesday, according to the department’s police blotter.
—Khari Thompson, BostonGlobe.com, 25 July 2023
McCurtain County, which once led the state in homicides, also produces more sinister blotter items: a man cashed his dead mother’s Social Security checks for more than a year; a man killed a woman with a hunting bow and two arrows; a man raped a woman in front of her baby.
—Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 24 July 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'blotter.' 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
1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near blotter
Cite this Entry
“Blotter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blotter. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
blotter
noun
blot·ter
ˈblät-ər 
1
: a piece of blotting paper
2
: a book in which entries are made temporarily
a police blotter
Legal Definition
blotter
noun
blot·ter
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