Blank means empty or unmarked. A blank piece of paper has nothing written on it yet: it's waiting for your ideas. A blank canvas sits ready for a painter's first brushstroke. When you start a new document on a computer, you're staring at a blank screen.

The word also describes a face or expression showing no emotion or reaction. If you ask your friend a question and they just give you a blank stare, they either didn't hear you or have no idea what you're talking about. When someone's mind goes blank during a test, all those facts they studied seem to vanish temporarily.

You'll often encounter blanks as empty spaces meant to be filled in. A worksheet might ask you to fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary words. A form has blanks for your name and address.

The word can also mean complete or total. A blank refusal means someone said no without any hesitation or room for discussion. To deny something point blank is to deny it directly and absolutely.