carte blanche

noun

ˈkärt-ˈblänch  -ˈbläⁿsh 

plural cartes blanches ˈkärt(s)-ˈblänch  -ˈbläⁿsh 

: full discretionary (see discretion sense 1a) power

was given carte blanche to furnish the house

Did you know?

Carte blanche is much like a blank check. In French, carte means "document" and blanche means "blank," so the phrase means "blank document." English retained that literal meaning: a carte blanche was a blank document signed in advance by one party and given to the other with permission to fill in conditions later. Much like blank check, carte blanche also took on the extended meaning "complete freedom."

Examples of carte blanche in a Sentence

We gave the decorator carte blanche to furnish the house.

Recent Examples on the Web

Under this reading of agency authority, the government has carte blanche to evade the limits Congress imposed on the Executive's discretionary authority over adjustments to LPR status and to circumvent the procedures Congress mandated for recission of such adjustments. —Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 July 2025

Something to remember as the current administration continues to give carte blanche to big tech companies. —Fiorella Valdesolo, Vogue, 10 June 2025

The near carte blanche access Musk had in our government with his initial team of kiddie corp. —Gary Franks, Hartford Courant, 14 June 2025

By allowing Domino’s into school cafeterias, the government also is essentially giving the company carte blanche to advertise its pizza. —Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 5 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, literally, blank document

First Known Use

1751, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for carte blanche

• avalanche
• blanch
• branch
• cranch
• ranch
• stanch
• tranche

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