fill in the blank

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

As a noun, a clipping of fill-in-the-blank question, problem, &c.

Noun

[edit]

fill in the blank (plural fill in the blanks)

Examples

My name is _____.

  1. A language exercise in which one or more words are replaced with a blank line and the reader is tasked with supplying a valid replacement.
    The test consisted of fill-in-the-blank sentences.
    • 2009, Randy Huddleston, Getting to Know God[1], page 43:
      The emphasis on doing the Bible study portion. This is not a fill in the blank with a simple answer from the Bible that “says” what we are looking for.
  2. (idiomatic, figuratively) A placeholder allowing for any of a variety of possible answers or a single elicited answer.
    • 2011, Debra Ginsberg, The Neighbors Are Watching: A Novel[2], page 55:
      It was important that she make something memorable. She wanted to be complimented. She wanted people to go home after the party and say, “Wasn't Dorothy's — fill in the blank — amazing?"

Synonyms

[edit]

Hyponyms

[edit]
  • (language exercise): cloze

Translations

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

fill in the blank (third-person singular simple present fills in the blank, present participle filling in the blank, simple past and past participle filled in the blank)

  1. To complete a single fill in the blank question.
  2. (idiomatic, figuratively) To complete an interruption, ambiguity, or vagueness in understanding, perception, or context.

Synonyms

[edit]