What does "blotto" mean?
A person who is (very) drunk or intoxicated.
Blotto
/ˈblɒtəʊ/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person who is (very) drunk or intoxicated.
- Grammar: blotto is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: besotted, blind, blind drunk, blind drunk.
- Usage evidence: Dear old Squiffy was always rather a lad for the wassail-bowl. When I met him in Paris, I remember, he was quite tolerably blotto.
How to use "blotto"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "blotto" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "blotto" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "blotto" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "blotto" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "blotto" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "besotted" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "blotto", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person who is (very) drunk or intoxicated. informal
"Remember, Blanche DuBois was a blotto and her trip to New Orleans didn't get her anywhere. Nuff said."
- 2 A reagent made from non-fat dry milk, phosphate buffered saline, and sodium azide, which is used to block protein binding sites for laboratory techniques such as blots and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). uncountable
"Secondary goat anti-rabbit antiserum coupled to horseradish peroxidase at a dilution of 1:500 in blotto was then incubated with the blot for 1 hour. Again the unbound antibodies were removed by three rinses in 10% blotto for 15 minutes."
- 3 On Sulawesi: a hollowed-out tree trunk used as a boat. obsolete
"The canoes that are in common use on the lake are of the most primitive and unstable type. They simply consist of a semi-cylinder, hollowed out of a tree stem, with the ends filled up with mud and grass. These canoes are called blotto or ballotto by the natives. […] They are of every size, from the child's blotto of ten or fifteen feet in length to the fisherman's craft of fifty."
- 4 Alternative letter-case form of blotto (“reagent used to block protein binding sites for laboratory techniques”). alt-of, uncountable
"Generalized background staining of colostral cell preparations was blocked most effectively with Blotto + 10% FBS."
- 5 An artwork created using blots of ink or paint.
"The authors' most penetrating work seems to me, their contribution along the lines of the interview with the child, the use of sketches, blottoes, etc. "Draw a picture of this house. Who lives there? Show where the different members sleep" […]"
Verb
- 1 To become or cause to become (very) drunk or intoxicated. informal, intransitive
"An entire bottle would have blottoed me. I marvel how Leigh managed to give my name to the manager."
- 2 To be annihilated or destroyed; to be blotted out. informal, intransitive
"[H]is soul, spinning in centrifugal lust and fury until he sputters out through the hole in the center of him; going down like a gas bag—vault, cellar, ribs, skin, blood, tissue, mind, and heart all consumed, devoured, blottoed in final annihilation."
Adjective
- 1 (Very) drunk or intoxicated. informal
"Dear old Squiffy was always rather a lad for the wassail-bowl. When I met him in Paris, I remember, he was quite tolerably blotto."
Adjective
- 1 very drunk wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Dear old Squiffy was always rather a lad for the wassail-bowl. When I met him in Paris, I remember, he was quite tolerably blotto."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "blotto"?
Common synonyms include: besotted, blind, blind drunk, blind drunk, boozy, canned.
How do you use "blotto" in a sentence?
Dear old Squiffy was always rather a lad for the wassail-bowl. When I met him in Paris, I remember, he was quite tolerably blotto.
How do you pronounce "blotto"?
Pronounced /ˈblɒtəʊ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From blot + -o. The verb sense “to be annihilated or destroyed” may be related to blot out.
Etymology 2
Acronym of bovine lacto transfer technique optimizer.
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Gorontalo [Term?].