noun
blinker
BLIHNG-kuh
noun
1
A car's flashing turn-signal light.
"He forgot to turn off his blinker after the exit."
"Use your blinker before changing lanes."
2
A flap fitted to a horse's bridle that stops it seeing sideways or behind.
"The racehorse wore blinkers to keep it focused on the track ahead."
3
Anything that limits a person's view or understanding of a situation (usually plural, "blinkers").
"His political blinkers meant he never considered the other side of the argument."
How to Use Blinker
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA turn signal on a car, a horse's eye-flap, or (figuratively) something that narrows what a person is willing to see or consider.
UK vs US
UK English favours "indicator" for the car light; "blinker" is more common in American English.
Common pairings
wear blinkers
flick on the blinker
blinkered view
Word Forms
blinkered past tense, blinkers plural, blinkers singular
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He forgot to turn off his _____ after the exit.
Etymology
Formed from blink plus the agent suffix -er, originally naming anything that flashes or blocks vision, later specialised to the horse harness piece and the car light.