blank
/blæŋk/ (bre, ipa) · /blæŋk/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈblaŋk/ (ame, mw)
blank — 形容詞
- blankpositive
- blankercomparative
- blankestsuperlative
1. describing a surface such as paper, a screen, or a tape that has nothing written
空白的
上面沒有寫字、圖案或紀錄的
describing a surface such as paper, a screen, or a tape that has nothing written, drawn, recorded, or printed on it.
Lior tore a blank page from her notebook and started drawing the cat.
Lior 從筆記本上撕下一張空白的紙，開始畫起那隻貓。
blank + noun (page) — most typical pairing
The teacher handed each child a blank sheet of paper for the spelling test.
老師發給每個小朋友一張空白的紙來做拼字測驗。
blank sheet of paper — common school context
When Uri pressed play, the cassette was completely blank.
Uri 按下播放鍵時，那捲卡帶完全是空白的。
Theo's computer screen went blank in the middle of her video call.
Theo 視訊到一半，電腦螢幕突然一片空白。
Please leave the last two boxes on the form blank if they do not apply to you.
如果不適用，請把表格最後兩格留空白。
文法句型
blank + noun (page, screen, form, tape)
用法筆記
Frequently used before nouns naming surfaces or storage media (page, sheet, screen, tape, CD, form). When the subject becomes blank suddenly, prefer 'go blank' over 'be blank'.
常見錯誤
2. describing a person's face or eyes when they show no feeling, no understanding,
面無表情
臉上看不出情緒或理解的
describing a person's face or eyes when they show no feeling, no understanding, and no reaction at all — as if the mind behind them has nothing to share.
When the police asked about the missing money, Uri gave them a completely blank stare.
警方追問失蹤的錢時，Uri 只是面無表情地盯著他們。
blank stare — most idiomatic collocation
The students returned blank looks when Ms. Tariq asked who had read chapter four.
田中老師問誰讀完第四章時，學生們都露出茫然的眼神。
blank look — signals no understanding
Theo's face went blank the moment she heard her grandfather had died.
Theo 一聽到祖父去世的消息，臉立刻變得毫無表情。
Mateo kept his expression carefully blank during the long interview.
在那場漫長的面試裡，Mateo 刻意讓自己面無表情。
- expressionless
more neutral; just the absence of any visible feeling
- vacant
stronger; suggests the mind is far away or empty
- deadpan
deliberate flatness, often for comic effect
- expressive
showing thoughts and feelings clearly
- animated
lively, full of movement and feeling
文法句型
blank + look/stare/expression/face
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense applies only to faces, eyes, looks, stares, or expressions, not to surfaces. Often signals either confusion (no understanding) or shock (no emotion); context decides which.
常見錯誤
3. complete and leaving no room for argument — used before a noun like refusal or d
斷然的
完全沒有商量餘地的
complete and leaving no room for argument — used before a noun like refusal or denial to stress that there are no exceptions or qualifications.
The mayor met every reporter's question with a blank refusal to comment.
面對每一位記者的提問，市長都以斷然拒絕回應作答。
blank refusal — fixed before-noun collocation
Mateo's request for a pay rise was met with a blank denial from his boss.
Mateo 提出加薪要求，卻被老闆斷然拒絕。
blank denial — flat, uncompromising rejection
The committee gave the proposal a blank rejection without even reading it.
委員會連看都沒看就斷然否決了那項提案。
The landlord issued a blank refusal when Lior asked to keep a small dog in the flat.
Lior 想在公寓裡養一隻小狗，房東當場給了她斷然拒絕。
文法句型
blank + abstract noun (refusal, denial)
用法筆記
Only used before a noun, never after a linking verb (you cannot say 'the refusal was blank'). Almost always pairs with refusal, denial, or rejection; other nouns sound unnatural.
常見錯誤
blank — 動詞
- blankpresent simple I / you / we / they
- blanks3rd person singular
- blanking-ing form
- blankedpast simple
1. to deliberately treat a person you know as if they were invisible — refusing to
故意不理
刻意把熟人當作陌生人對待
to deliberately treat a person you know as if they were invisible — refusing to greet them, look at them, or talk to them, usually to show anger or disapproval.
After their argument, Theo blanked Uri completely at the office party.
吵架之後，Theo 在公司聚會上完全不理會 Uri。
blank + person — direct snub
Mateo waved at his old classmate across the street, but she just blanked him.
Mateo 在街對面向老同學揮手，對方卻直接不理他。
informal British register
Lior felt hurt when her best friend blanked her at the school gate.
在校門口被最好的朋友當作沒看見，Lior 覺得很受傷。
The actor blanked every reporter who tried to ask about his divorce.
那位演員對所有想問起他離婚的記者都視而不見。
- acknowledge
to greet or recognise someone
- greet
to say hello in a friendly way
文法句型
blank + somebody
用法筆記
Common in informal British English; less natural in American English, where 'snub' or 'ignore' is preferred. The object is always a person — you cannot blank an idea, a request, or an email.
常見錯誤
2. to suddenly find that your mind has gone empty so you cannot remember what you w
腦袋一片空白
突然想不起原本要說或要做的事
to suddenly find that your mind has gone empty so you cannot remember what you were about to say or do, especially in a stressful moment.
Lior completely blanked when the judge asked her to spell 'rhinoceros' on stage.
評審請 Lior 在台上拼出 rhinoceros 時，她腦袋瞬間一片空白。
blank — sudden memory failure
Mateo blanked halfway through his wedding speech and had to read from his notes.
Mateo 婚禮致詞講到一半腦袋空白，只好低頭看小抄。
intransitive use mid-action
I blanked on her name the second I saw her at the party.
我一在派對上看到她，就突然想不起她的名字。
Theo blanked during the driving test and forgot which pedal was the brake.
Theo 路考時腦袋一片空白，忘了哪一個踏板才是煞車。
- freeze
stronger; suggests panic stops you completely
- forget
wider; doesn't carry the sudden mental-empty feel
- draw a blank
set phrase; same idea but always with 'draw'
文法句型
subject + blank (no object)
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 (the transitive 'shut out' sense): this sense takes no person as object. Often followed by 'on + thing forgotten' (blanked on her name, blanked on the answer).
常見錯誤
3. in sports such as baseball, basketball, or hockey, to beat the other team while
讓對手掛零
在比賽中不讓對方得到任何分數
in sports such as baseball, basketball, or hockey, to beat the other team while keeping their final score at zero.
The Tigers blanked the Lions 7-0 in last night's playoff game.
昨晚的季後賽中，老虎隊以 7 比 0 讓獅子隊掛零。
blank + team + score — typical sports headline pattern
Pitcher Uri Reyes blanked the visiting team for all nine innings.
投手 Uri Reyes 整整九局都讓客隊一分未得。
subject = pitcher, object = team
Toronto blanked Boston twice in the same week, much to the fans' delight.
多倫多在同一週裡兩度讓波士頓掛零，球迷高興得不得了。
Goalie Mateo Reyes blanked the opposing forwards with thirty-two saves on Saturday night.
守門員 Mateo Reyes 週六晚上靠著三十二次撲救，讓對方前鋒一分未進。
- concede
to allow the opponent to score
文法句型
blank + team / opponent
用法筆記
Mainly American sports journalism; British sports reporters tend to say 'kept a clean sheet against' for football. The object is the losing team or its players, never the winning side.
常見錯誤
blank — 名詞
- blanksingular
- blanksplural
1. an empty area on a piece of paper or a form, often shown by a line or box, where
空格
表格或文章上等待填寫的空白處
an empty area on a piece of paper or a form, often shown by a line or box, where you are expected to write your answer or details.
Please write your full name and date of birth in the blanks at the top of the form.
請在表格最上方的空格填入你的全名和出生日期。
blanks on a form — most common context
The grammar exercise had ten blanks for students to fill in with the correct verb.
那份文法練習有十個空格，學生要填上正確的動詞。
fill in + blanks — set teaching pattern
Uri left several blanks because he did not know the answers.
因為不會寫，Uri 留下了好幾個空格沒填。
The application had a small blank near the bottom for Theo's signature.
申請書下方有一個小空格，留給 Theo 簽名。
文法句型
fill in the blanks
leave a blank
用法筆記
Almost always plural in classroom contexts ('fill in the blanks'). The fixed phrase 'fill in the blanks' is also used figuratively to mean 'work out the missing details' even outside writing.
常見錯誤
2. a gap in your memory or knowledge — a place where information that should be the
記憶空白
腦中該有資訊卻完全想不起來的狀態
a gap in your memory or knowledge — a place where information that should be there is missing, so you cannot recall facts, ideas, or events.
After the car accident, Lior's memory of that morning was a complete blank.
車禍之後，Lior 對那天早上的記憶完全是一片空白。
memory + blank — classic context
Mateo drew a blank when the quiz host asked the capital of Mongolia.
問答節目主持人問起蒙古首都時，Mateo 完全答不上來。
draw a blank — set idiom
The witness apologised for the blank in her account of what happened.
目擊者為自己陳述中那段空白向警方道歉。
My mind went blank during the maths exam, and I just sat staring at the page.
數學考試中我腦袋一片空白，只能呆呆地盯著考卷。
- memory
the information that is preserved in the mind
文法句型
a blank in (memory / knowledge)
用法筆記
Often appears in fixed expressions like 'draw a blank' (fail to find an answer) and 'mind goes blank' (sudden memory failure under pressure). Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is mental, not physical.
常見錯誤
3. a piece of metal, wood, or plastic that has been roughly shaped and now waits to
毛胚；半成品
尚未加工成成品的金屬或材料件
a piece of metal, wood, or plastic that has been roughly shaped and now waits to be cut, stamped, or polished into its finished form, for example into a house key or a coin.
The locksmith chose a brass blank that matched the shape of Lior's old key.
鎖匠挑了一支形狀符合 Lior 舊鑰匙的黃銅毛胚。
key blank — most common product
Mateo watched the worker stamp a coin design onto each shiny metal blank.
Mateo 看著工人把硬幣圖案壓印在每個亮亮的金屬毛胚上。
metal blank → coin
The factory produced thousands of plastic blanks that would later become hairbrush handles.
工廠製造了數千個塑膠半成品，之後會被加工成髮梳的握柄。
Each wooden blank passed through three machines before becoming a finished chess piece.
每塊木製毛胚要經過三台機器加工，才會變成完成的西洋棋棋子。
- finished product
the completed item the blank becomes
文法句型
a blank for + final product
用法筆記
A trade or technical word; you will mostly see it in locksmithing, coin minting, and small-scale manufacturing. Often used with the material as a modifier ('a brass blank', 'a wooden blank') to make the meaning clear.
4. a small bullet-shaped cartridge fired from a gun that produces a loud bang and a
空包彈
只發出聲響卻沒有彈頭的子彈
a small bullet-shaped cartridge fired from a gun that produces a loud bang and a flash, yet holds no actual bullet inside, so nothing flies out of the barrel.
The film crew loaded the actor's pistol with blanks for the chase scene.
拍追逐戲時，劇組在那名演員的手槍裡裝填了空包彈。
load + with + blanks — film production context
Soldiers practise battlefield drills using blanks instead of live rounds.
士兵在演習中會用空包彈代替實彈來練習。
blanks vs live rounds contrast
The starter pistol fired a blank to signal the beginning of the race.
起跑槍打出一發空包彈，宣告比賽開始。
Even though the rifle held only blanks, Lior jumped at the loud bang.
雖然那把步槍裝的只是空包彈，那聲巨響還是嚇得 Lior 跳起來。
- blank cartridge
fuller technical term; same thing
- dummy round
different; dummy rounds make no bang either
- live round
a real cartridge with a bullet inside
文法句型
fire / shoot blanks
用法筆記
Almost always plural ('blanks') because guns are loaded with several at a time. Despite the harmless name, blanks can still injure or kill at very close range — point them away from people.