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

The brand gave him carte blanche to direct her in a teaser for its Métiers d’Art show in Hangzhou, China, last December. —Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 13 May 2025

In response, city leaders hired former NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton to run the force and gave him carte blanche to clean house. —Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 11 May 2025

As lawmakers in Wisconsin and Illinois have demonstrated, partisan gerrymandering is a bipartisan pursuit when the party in power has carte blanche to pick its own voters. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2025

The French luxury house has since 2019 annually been giving a female artist carte blanche to design a work to mark the day. —Jennifer Weil, WWD, 5 Mar. 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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