carte blanche

[ kahrt blanch, blahnch; French kart blahnsh ]

noun

, plural cartes blanches [kahrts, , blanch, blahnch, k, a, r, t , blahnsh].

1. unconditional authority; full discretionary power:

   It appears that the government has given the military carte blanche.

   She was given carte blanche to decorate her room as she wished, perhaps an unwise decision by her parents.

   Synonyms: free hand, blank check, free rein, license

2. a sheet of paper that is blank except for a signature and given by the signer to another person to write in what they please.
3. Cards. a hand having no face card but with a special scoring value, as in piquet.

carte blanche

/ kart blɑ̃ʃ; ˈkɑːt ˈblɑːntʃ /

noun

1. complete discretion or authority

   the government gave their negotiator carte blanche

2. cards a piquet hand containing no court cards: scoring ten points

carte blanche

1. To be given “carte blanche” is to receive the power and authority to do as one wishes: “The prime minister herself did not take any action on the refugee issue but gave her minister of the interior carte blanche to deal with the situation.” Carte blanche is French for “blank card,” meaning one that can be filled in as a person wishes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of carte blanche¹

First recorded in 1655–65 as blank, blanck , or blanche (without carte ) in the card game sense, in 1700–10 in the sense “blank, signed document,” and in 1760–70 in the sense “discretionary power”; from French: literally, “blank document”; carte, blank

Word History and Origins

Origin of carte blanche¹

C18: from French: blank paper

Related Words

• blank check
• free rein
• latitude
• power of attorney