Blank vs. Standard — What's the Difference?
By Urooj Arif & Fiza Rafique — Updated on May 4, 2024
"Blank" refers to something empty or unmarked, commonly used for spaces or materials ready for input, whereas "standard" denotes something established as a model or example, often used as a benchmark.
Difference Between Blank and Standard
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
A blank item, such as a page or form, contains no written content or markings, providing a clean slate for creativity or information. On the other hand, a standard item refers to an established norm or criterion that is intended to ensure consistency and quality across various instances or products.
While blank media invites addition and customization, standard settings or products are designed to minimize variation and streamline usage.
This distinction is particularly notable in fields like manufacturing, where blank materials are raw and adaptable, whereas standard products are finished according to predefined specifications.
In the realm of documentation, a blank document offers limitless possibilities for content, whereas a standard document might serve as a template or guideline that directs content creation.
The concept of 'blank' often symbolizes potential or the beginning, whereas 'standard' implies a reference point or an expected condition.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Empty, containing nothing.
Accepted as a model or example.
Purpose
To be filled or customized.
To provide a benchmark or norm.
Usage
Forms, pages, canvases.
Guidelines, specifications, models.
Implication
Potential, readiness for input.
Consistency, reliability, conformity.
Typical Context
Creative processes, data entry.
Quality control, industry standards.
Compare with Definitions
Blank
Completely empty or unmarked.
She stared at the blank canvas, imagining the possibilities.
Standard
Serving as a model for comparative evaluations.
This is the industry standard for excellence.
Blank
Unfilled, available for input.
The form was left blank.
Standard
Commonly accepted or expected norm.
The car meets all the standard safety requirements.
Blank
Not recorded or written down.
The journal was found blank.
Standard
Regular, usual, or typical.
He did the standard check of the equipment.
Blank
Free from any writing or images.
He handed in a blank sheet of paper.
Standard
Average or normal quality.
The service was of standard quality.
Blank
Lacking features or details.
Her mind went blank during the interview.
Standard
Conforming to established practices.
They use the standard procedure for installation.
Blank
Devoid of writing, images, or marks
A blank wall.
A blank screen.
Standard
A level of quality or attainment
The government's ambition to raise standards in schools
Their restaurant offers a high standard of service
Blank
Containing no information; unrecorded or erased
A blank tape.
A blank diskette.
Standard
Something used as a measure, norm, or model in comparative evaluations
The wages are low by today's standards
The system had become an industry standard
Blank
Having spaces for information to be provided; not completed or filled in
A blank questionnaire.
Standard
(especially with reference to jazz or blues) a tune or song of established popularity.
Blank
Not having received final processing; unfinished
A blank key.
Standard
A military or ceremonial flag carried on a pole or hoisted on a rope.
Blank
Devoid of thought or impression
A blank mind.
Standard
A tree or shrub that grows on an erect stem of full height.
Blank
Showing no expression, interest, or understanding; expressionless
A blank stare.
Standard
An upright water or gas pipe.
Blank
Devoid of activity or distinctive character; empty
Tried to fill the blank hours of the day.
Standard
Used or accepted as normal or average
It is standard practice in museums to register objects as they are acquired
The standard rate of income tax
Blank
Absolute; complete
A blank refusal.
Standard
(of a tree or shrub) growing on an erect stem of full height
Standard trees are useful for situations where immediate height is needed
Blank
An empty space or place, especially an empty space on a document to be filled in.
Standard
Serving as or conforming to an established or accepted measurement or value
A standard unit of volume.
Blank
A document with one or more such spaces.
Standard
Widely recognized or employed as a model of authority or excellence
A standard reference work.
Blank
Something without information or thought
When I read that question on the test, my mind was a blank.
Standard
Acceptable but of less than top quality
A standard grade of beef.
Blank
Something showing no expression or understanding
When he told his mother what happened, her face was a blank.
Standard
Normal, familiar, or usual
The standard excuse.
Blank
A manufactured article of a standard shape or form that is ready for final processing, as by stamping or cutting
A key blank.
Standard
Commonly used or supplied
Standard car equipment.
Blank
A blank cartridge.
Standard
(Linguistics) Conforming to models or norms of usage admired by educated speakers and writers
Standard pronunciation.
Blank
Something worthless, such as a losing lottery ticket.
Standard
An acknowledged measure of comparison for quantitative or qualitative value; a criterion.
Blank
A mark, usually a dash (—), indicating the omission of a word or of a letter or letters.
Standard
An object that under specified conditions defines, represents, or records the magnitude of a unit.
Blank
The white circle in the center of a target; a bull's-eye.
Standard
The commodity or commodities used to back a monetary system.
Blank
(Games) An unmarked piece or portion of a piece, as a domino tile, whose value may be determined by the holder.
Standard
The set proportion by weight of gold or silver to alloy metal prescribed for use in coinage.
Blank
To remove, as from view; obliterate
"At times the strong glare of the sun blanked it from sight" (Richard Wright).
Standard
A degree or level of requirement, excellence, or attainment
Their quality of work exceeds the standards set for the field.
Blank
To block access to
Blank off a subway tunnel.
Standard
Something, such as a practice or a product, that is widely recognized or employed, especially because of its excellence.
Blank
(Sports) To prevent (an opponent) from scoring.
Standard
A set of specifications that are adopted within an industry to allow compatibility between products.
Blank
To punch or stamp from flat stock, especially with a die.
Standard
A requirement of moral conduct
The standards of polite society.
Blank
To become abstracted. Often used with out
My mind blanked out for a few seconds.
Standard
The ensign of a chief of state, nation, or city.
Blank
To fail to find or remember something
I blanked when asked the name of our mayor.
Standard
A long, tapering flag bearing heraldic devices distinctive of a person or corporation.
Blank
To fade away
The music gradually blanked out.
Standard
An emblem or flag of an army, raised on a pole to indicate the rallying point in battle.
Blank
(archaic) White or pale; without colour.
Standard
The colors of a mounted or motorized military unit.
Blank
Free from writing, printing, or marks; having an empty space to be filled in
Blank paper
A blank check
A blank ballot
A blank CD
Standard
Chiefly British A grade level in elementary schools.
Blank
(figurative) Lacking characteristics which give variety; uniform.
A blank desert; a blank wall; blank unconsciousness
Standard
A pedestal, stand, or base.
Blank
Absolute; downright; sheer.
There was a look of blank terror on his face.
A blank refusal to cooperate
Standard
The large upper petal of the flower of a pea or related plant. Also called banner, vexillum.
Blank
Without expression, usually due to incomprehension.
Failing to understand the question, he gave me a blank stare.
Standard
One of the narrow upright petals of an iris.
Blank
Utterly confounded or discomfited.
Standard
A shrub or small tree that through grafting or training has a single stem of limited height with a crown of leaves and flowers at its apex.
Blank
Empty; void; without result; fruitless.
A blank day
Standard
(Music) A composition that is continually used in repertoires
A pianist who knew dozens of Broadway standards.
Blank
Devoid of thoughts, memory, or inspiration.
The shock left his memory blank.
Standard
Falling within an accepted range of size, amount, power, quality, etc.
Blank
(military) Of ammunition: having propellant but no bullets; unbulleted.
The recruits were issued with blank rounds for a training exercise.
Standard
(of a tree or shrub) Growing alone as a free-standing plant; not trained on a post etc.
Blank
A small French coin, originally of silver, afterwards of copper, worth 5 deniers; also a silver coin of Henry V current in the parts of France then held by the English, worth about 8 pence .
Standard
Having recognized excellence or authority.
Standard works in history; standard authors
Blank
(obsolete) A nonplus 16th century.
Standard
Of a usable or serviceable grade or quality.
Blank
The white spot in the centre of a target; hence (figuratively) the object to which anything is directed or aimed, the range of such aim .
Standard
Having a manual transmission.
Blank
A lot by which nothing is gained; a ticket in a lottery on which no prize is indicated since the 16th century.
Standard
As normally supplied (not optional).
Blank
An empty space; a void, for example on a paper .
Standard
(linguistics) Conforming to the standard variety.
Blank
A space to be filled in on a form or template.
Write your answers in the blanks.
Standard
A principle or example or measure used for comparison.
Blank
Provisional words printed in italics (instead of blank spaces) in a bill before Parliament, being matters of practical detail, of which the final form will be settled in Committee .
Standard
A level of quality or attainment.
Blank
A document, paper, or form with spaces left blank to be filled up at the pleasure of the person to whom it is given (e.g. a blank charter, ballot, form, contract, etc.), or as the event may determine; a blank form .
Standard
Something used as a measure for comparative evaluations; a model.
Blank
An empty form without substance; anything insignificant; nothing at all .
Standard
A musical work of established popularity.
Blank
An unprinted leaf of a book 20th century.
Standard
A rule or set of rules or requirements which are widely agreed upon or imposed by government.
Blank
(literature) Blank verse .
Standard
The proportion of weights of fine metal and alloy established for coinage.
Blank
A piece of metal (such as a coin, screw, nuts), cut and shaped to the required size of the thing to be made, and ready for the finishing operations; (coining) the disc of metal before stamping .
Standard
(sociolinguistics) standard idiom, a prestigious or standardized language variety; standard language
Blank
Any article of glass on which subsequent processing is required since the 19th century.
Standard
A bottle of wine containing 0.750 liters of fluid.
Blank
(electric recording) The shaved wax ready for placing on a recording machine for making wax records with a stylus 20th century.
Standard
(India) Grade level in primary education.
I am in fifth standard.
Blank
(figurative) A vacant space, place, or period; a void since the 17th century.
Standard
A vertical pole with something at its apex.
Blank
The 1 / 230400 of a grain 17th century.
Standard
An object supported in an upright position, such as a lamp standard.
Blank
An empty space in one's memory; a forgotten item or memory since the 18th century.
Standard
The flag or ensign carried by a military unit.
Blank
A dash written in place of an omitted letter or word since the 18th century
Standard
One of the upright members that supports the horizontal axis of a transit or theodolite.
Blank
The space character; the character resulting from pressing the space-bar on a keyboard.
Standard
Any upright support, such as one of the poles of a scaffold.
Blank
(dominoes) A domino without points on one or both of its divisions.
The double blank
The six blank
Standard
A sturdy, woody plant whose upright stem is used to graft a less hardy ornamental flowering plant on, rather then actually planting it.
Blank
(firearms) blank cartridge since the 19th century.
It was an unloaded gun that fired only blanks.
Standard
A tree of natural size supported by its own stem, and not dwarfed by grafting on the stock of a smaller species nor trained upon a wall or trellis.
Blank
An ineffective effort which achieves nothing since the 20th century.
Standard
The sheth of a plough.
Blank
(chemistry) A sample for a control experiment that does not contain any of the analyte of interest, in order to deliberately produce a non-detection to verify that a detection is distinguishable from it.
Standard
A manual transmission vehicle.
Blank
(slang) Infertile semen.
Standard
(botany) The upper petal or banner of a papilionaceous corolla.
Blank
(transitive) To make void; to erase.
I blanked out my previous entry.
Standard
(shipbuilding) An inverted knee timber placed upon the deck instead of beneath it, with its vertical branch turned upward from that which lies horizontally.
Blank
To ignore (a person) deliberately.
She blanked me for no reason.
Standard
A large drinking cup.
Blank
To render ineffective by blanketing with turbulent airflow, such as from aircraft wake or reverse thrust.
At high angles of attack, the shuttle's rudder is blanked by the fuselage and wings, forcing it to use its RCS thrusters for yaw control.
Standard
(historical) A collar of mail protecting the neck.
Blank
(transitive) To prevent from scoring; for example, in a sporting event.
The team was blanked.
England blanks Wales to advance to the final.
Standard
(slang) An expression of agreement
Blank
(intransitive) To become blank.
Standard
A flag; colors; a banner; especially, a national or other ensign.
His armies, in the following day,On those fair plains their standards proud display.
Blank
(intransitive) To be temporarily unable to remember.
I'm blanking on her name right now.
Standard
That which is established by authority as a rule for the measure of quantity, extent, value, or quality; esp., the original specimen weight or measure sanctioned by government, as the standard pound, gallon, or yard.
Blank
Of a white or pale color; without color.
To the blank moonHer office they prescribed.
Standard
That which is established as a rule or model by authority, custom, or general consent; criterion; test.
The court, which used to be the standard of propriety and correctness of speech.
A disposition to preserve, and an ability to improve, taken together, would be my standard of a statesman.
Blank
Free from writing, printing, or marks; having an empty space to be filled in with some special writing; - said of checks, official documents, etc.; as, blank paper; a blank check; a blank ballot.
Standard
The proportion of weights of fine metal and alloy established by authority.
By the present standard of the coinage, sixty-two shillings is coined out of one pound weight of silver.
Blank
Utterly confounded or discomfited.
Adam . . . astonied stood, and blank.
Standard
A tree of natural size supported by its own stem, and not dwarfed by grafting on the stock of a smaller species nor trained upon a wall or trellis.
In France part of their gardens is laid out for flowers, others for fruits; some standards, some against walls.
Blank
Empty; void; without result; fruitless; as, a blank space; a blank day.
Standard
The upper petal or banner of a papilionaceous corolla.
Blank
Lacking characteristics which give variety; as, a blank desert; a blank wall; destitute of interests, affections, hopes, etc.; as, to live a blank existence; destitute of sensations; as, blank unconsciousness.
Standard
An upright support, as one of the poles of a scaffold; any upright in framing.
Blank
Lacking animation and intelligence, or their associated characteristics, as expression of face, look, etc.; expressionless; vacant.
The blank . . . glance of a half returned consciousness.
Standard
An inverted knee timber placed upon the deck instead of beneath it, with its vertical branch turned upward from that which lies horizontally.
Blank
Absolute; downright; unmixed; as, blank terror.
Standard
The sheth of a plow.
Blank
Any void space; a void space on paper, or in any written instrument; an interval void of consciousness, action, result, etc; a void.
I can not write a paper full, I used to do; and yet I will not forgive a blank of half an inch from you.
From this time there ensues a long blank in the history of French legislation.
I was ill. I can't tell how long - it was a blank.
Standard
A large drinking cup.
Blank
A lot by which nothing is gained; a ticket in a lottery on which no prize is indicated.
In Fortune's lottery liesA heap of blanks, like this, for one small prize.
Standard
Being, affording, or according with, a standard for comparison and judgment; as, standard time; standard weights and measures; a standard authority as to nautical terms; standard gold or silver.
Blank
A paper unwritten; a paper without marks or characters a blank ballot; - especially, a paper on which are to be inserted designated items of information, for which spaces are left vacant; a bland form.
The freemen signified their approbation by an inscribed vote, and their dissent by a blank.
Standard
Hence: Having a recognized and permanent value; as, standard works in history; standard authors.
Blank
A paper containing the substance of a legal instrument, as a deed, release, writ, or execution, with spaces left to be filled with names, date, descriptions, etc.
Standard
Not supported by, or fastened to, a wall; as, standard fruit trees.
Blank
The point aimed at in a target, marked with a white spot; hence, the object to which anything is directed.
Let me still remainThe true blank of thine eye.
Standard
A basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated;
They set the measure for all subsequent work
Blank
Aim; shot; range.
I have stood . . . within the blank of his displeasureFor my free speech.
Standard
The ideal in terms of which something can be judged;
They live by the standards of their community
Blank
A kind of base silver money, first coined in England by Henry V., and worth about 8 pence; also, a French coin of the seventeenth century, worth about 4 pence.
Standard
A board measure = 1980 board feet
Blank
A piece of metal prepared to be made into something by a further operation, as a coin, screw, nuts.
Standard
The value behind the money in a monetary system
Blank
A piece or division of a piece, without spots; as, the "double blank"; the "six blank."
Standard
An upright pole or beam (especially one used as a support);
Distance was marked by standards every mile
Lamps supported on standards provided illumination
Blank
To make void; to annul.
Standard
Any distinctive flag
Blank
To blanch; to make blank; to damp the spirits of; to dispirit or confuse.
Each opposite that blanks the face of joy.
Standard
Conforming to or constituting a standard of measurement or value; or of the usual or regularized or accepted kind;
Windows of standard width
Standard sizes
The standard fixtures
Standard brands
Standard operating procedure
Blank
A blank character used to separate successive words in writing or printing;
He said the space is the most important character in the alphabet
Standard
Commonly used or supplied;
Standard procedure
Standard car equipment
Blank
A substitute for a taboo word;
I hit the blank blank car
Standard
Established or widely recognized as a model of authority or excellence;
A standard reference work
Blank
A blank gap or missing part
Standard
Conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers;
Standard English
Received standard English is sometimes called the King's English
Blank
A piece of material ready to be made into something
Standard
Regularly and widely used or sold;
A standard size
A stock item
Blank
A cartridge containing an explosive charge but no bullet
Blank
Keep the opposing (baseball) team from winning
Blank
Of a surface; not written or printed on;
Blank pages
Fill in the blank spaces
A clean page
Wide white margins
Blank
Void of expression;
A blank stare
Blank
Not charged with a bullet;
A blank cartridge
Common Curiosities
What defines something as standard?
Something is considered standard if it conforms to a model or criterion generally accepted as typical or expected.
What are examples of standard items?
Examples include standard procedures, measurements, and guidelines.
What does it mean for something to be blank?
Being blank means being empty or devoid of content, ready to be filled or used.
Can something be both blank and standard?
Yes, for instance, a standard form can be initially blank before it is filled out.
Why are standards important?
Standards ensure consistency, quality, and compatibility across products and services.
What are examples of blank items?
Examples include blank forms, empty canvases, and unused data fields.
How does the concept of blank apply in technology?
In technology, blank media like CDs or hard drives are used for data storage.
What role do standards play in education?
In education, standards help maintain consistent educational outcomes and assessments.
How do blank and standard items differ in usage?
Blank items are meant to be filled or customized, while standard items are used as benchmarks or norms.
Are standards always beneficial?
While standards can ensure quality and fairness, they may also stifle innovation if overly restrictive.
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Written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
