blanch

¹ American  

[blanch, blahnch] / blæntʃ, blɑntʃ /

verb (used with object)

1. to whiten by removing color; bleach.

   Workers were blanching linen in the sun.

2. Cooking.

   1. to scald briefly and then drain, as peaches or almonds to facilitate removal of skins, or as rice or macaroni to separate the grains or strands.

   2. to scald or parboil (meat or vegetables) so as to whiten, remove the odor, prepare for cooking by other means, etc.

3. Horticulture. (of the stems or leaves of plants, as celery or leeks) to whiten or prevent from becoming green by excluding light.

4. Metallurgy.

   1. to give a white luster to (metals), as by means of acids.

   2. to coat (sheet metal) with tin.

5. to make pale, as with sickness or fear.

   The long illness had blanched her cheeks of their natural color.

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verb (used without object)

1. to become white; turn pale.

   The very thought of going made him blanch.

blanch ² American  

[blanch, blahnch] / blæntʃ, blɑntʃ /

verb (used with object)

1. to force back or to one side; head off, as a deer or other quarry.

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blanch British  

/ blɑːntʃ /

verb

1. (also intr) to remove colour from, or (of colour) to be removed; whiten; fade

   the sun blanched the carpet

   over the years the painting blanched

2. (usually intr) to become or cause to become pale, as with sickness or fear

3. to plunge tomatoes, nuts, etc, into boiling water to loosen the skin

4. to plunge (meat, green vegetables, etc) in boiling water or bring to the boil in water in order to whiten, preserve the natural colour, or reduce or remove a bitter or salty taste

5. to cause (celery, chicory, etc) to grow free of chlorophyll by the exclusion of sunlight

6. metallurgy to whiten (a metal), usually by treating it with an acid or by coating it with tin

7. to attempt to conceal something

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Related Words

See whiten.

Other Word Forms

• blancher noun

Etymology

Origin of blanch¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English bla(u)nchen, from Anglo-French, Middle French blanchir “to whiten,” derivative of blanc, blanche “white”; blank

Origin of blanch²

First recorded in 1565–75; variant of blench ¹

Example Sentences

“Reporter-source relationships can be tricky, of course, and many journalists would blanch to see their correspondence with sources made public,” she added.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 15, 2025

“We didn’t blanch at the cost to come to The Mather.”

From Barron's • Oct. 26, 2025

This was solidified for me after crossing a threshold that some West Coast purists would blanch at breaching — going to a Rick Bayless restaurant.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 16, 2025

Add the chiles and garlic to the boiling water and blanch for 1 minute.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 14, 2023

I fiddle with the color and blanch us out to black and white.

From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina

Related Words

• flinch
• recoil
• wince