Blanketing

blan·ket  (blngkt)

n.

1. A large piece of woven material used as a covering for warmth, especially on a bed.

2. A layer that covers or encloses: a thick blanket of snow.

adj.

1. Applying to or covering all conditions or instances: a blanket insurance policy.

2. Applying to or covering all members of a class: blanket sanctions against human-rights violators.

tr.v. blan·ket·ed, blan·ket·ing, blan·kets

1. To cover with or as if with a blanket: leaves that blanket the ground.

2. To cover so as to inhibit, suppress, or extinguish: blanketed the grease fire with sand.

3. To apply to generally and uniformly without exception: high telephone service charges that blanketed our region.

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[Middle English, from Old French, an unbleached soft cloth, from blanc, white, of Germanic origin; see bhel-¹ in Indo-European roots.]