blotter

[ blot-er ]

noun

1. a piece of blotting paper used to absorb excess ink, to protect a desk top, etc.
2. a book in which transactions or events, as sales or arrests, are recorded as they occur:

   a police blotter.

3. Machinery. a soft washer of blotting paper or felt for cushioning a brittle object against shock or pressure or for increasing the friction or contact area between two surfaces.

blotter

/ ˈblɒtə /

noun

1. something used to absorb excess ink or other liquid, esp a sheet of blotting paper with a firm backing
2. a daily record of events, such as arrests, in a police station (esp in the phrase police blotter )

Word History and Origins

Origin of blotter¹

1585–95; 1887 blotter fordef 2; blot ¹ + -er ¹

Example Sentences

He fit that work between other daily news, his column and a crime blotter he writes, sprinkled with storytelling flourishes that make it easy to imagine Mark Twain reading the contents to a crowd.

From Time

At the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum, visitors stood before a towering depiction of the battle while inhaling the custom fragrance from blotters or tiny pumps.

From Washington Post

To the brokers of the future a lot of the value for clients comes from being able to integrate across all points of the trading life-cycle from the blotter to parent orders to child orders.

From Fortune

But those claims clash with reports by independent groups that monitor data from morgues, emergency rooms and the police blotter.

From The Daily Beast

And so much the rest of the story reads more like a police blotter than a saga of good old country music.

From The Daily Beast

Edna opened the blotter, and having procured paper and pen, began to write the note.

From Project Gutenberg

Then I held the paper below it, pressed the paw down, and made a signature, wiping the paw afterward with a blotter.

From Project Gutenberg

They will quickly dry in this manner and will not become moldy, as the blotter soaks up the moisture.

From Project Gutenberg

The boss was sitting back in his chair and making little rings on the desk blotter with the point of his letter-opener.

From Project Gutenberg

Courtney laid the paper-cutter carefully on the blotter, and drawing out his cigarette case, he selected one and slowly lit it.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• binder
• diary
• journal
• pad