- to whiten by removing color; bleach: Workers were blanching linen in the sun.
- Cooking.
- 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.
- to scald or parboil (meat or vegetables) so as to whiten, remove the odor, prepare for cooking by other means, etc.
- (of the stems or leaves of plants, as celery or leeks) to whiten or prevent from becoming green by excluding light.
- Metallurgy.
- to give a white luster to (metals), as by means of acids.
- to coat (sheet metal) with tin.
- to make pale, as with sickness or fear: The long illness had blanched her cheeks of their natural color.
- to become white; turn pale: The very thought of going made him blanch.
- to force back or to one side; head off, as a deer or other quarry.
- to remove colour from, or (of colour) to be removed; whiten; fade
- to become or cause to become pale, as with sickness or fear
- to plunge tomatoes, nuts, etc, into boiling water to loosen the skin
- 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
- to cause (celery, chicory, etc) to grow free of chlorophyll by the exclusion of sunlight
- to whiten (a metal), usually by treating it with an acid or by coating it with tin
- to attempt to conceal something
