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 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

To do this, Congress gave the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) carte blanche to raise revenue for the USF. —Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2025

This is nothing less than carte blanche for Putin's genocidal imperialism. —Kevin Sabet, Newsweek, 23 Mar. 2025

Barnes had carte blanche to experiment this year. —Eric Koreen, New York Times, 9 Apr. 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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