Dictionary

blindside en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈblaɪndˌsaɪd/
• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree English blind Proto-Indo-European *seh₁-der. Proto-Germanic *sīdaz Proto-Germanic *sīdǭ Old English sīde Middle English side English side English blindside From blind + side.

Meanings

1. A driver's field of blindness around an automobile; the side areas behind the driver.
2. A tram/train driver's field of blindness around a tram (trolley/streetcar) or a train; the side areas behind the tram/train driver.
3. (figuratively) A person's weak point.
4. The space on the side of the pitch with the shorter distance between the breakdown/set piece and the touchline; compare openside.
   • Showing no ill-effects from her lay-off, the full-back had already beaten three defenders on a jagging kick return, when she was sprung down the blindside a minute later. 2025 September 20, Mike Henson, “Kildunne stars as England see off France to make final”, in BBC Sport:
5. (qualifier:rugby union) The blindside flanker, a position in rugby union, usually number 6.
   • However, after an inside pass from Moody to Tom Croft and a surge from the England blind-side, number eight James Haskell was eventually pinged from in front of the posts for not releasing. 2011 September 24, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 67-3 Romania”, in BBC Sport:
   • The blindside packs down at the scrum on the blindside.

Forms

Synonyms

blind spot · blind spot

Translations (7)

pl martwe pole (motor vehicle/train/tram driver's field of blindness) · fi kuollut kulma (motor vehicle/train/tram driver's field of blindness) · fr angle mort (motor vehicle/train/tram driver's field of blindness) · nb dødvinkel (motor vehicle/train/tram driver's field of blindness) · es lado ciego (motor vehicle/train/tram driver's field of blindness) · cs slepý úhel (motor vehicle/train/tram driver's field of blindness) · it angolo morto (motor vehicle/train/tram driver's field of blindness)

blindside en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈblaɪndˌsaɪd/
• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree English blind Proto-Indo-European *seh₁-der. Proto-Germanic *sīdaz Proto-Germanic *sīdǭ Old English sīde Middle English side English side English blindside From blind + side.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To attack (a person) on their blind side.
   • What isn't so gimmicky is the Aggro System, where you draw fire onto yourself by acting aggressive, while your partner sneaks off blindsiding distracted enemies. Aggro depends on how big your current weapon is and how often you act aggressive. 2008 April 14, GameAxis Unwired, page 54:
   • The robbers crept out of the forest and blindsided the traveller.
2. (figuratively, informal, transitive) To catch off guard; to take by surprise.
   • Mr. Hassan offered Ms. Huynh $20 million in Google stock — less than 10 percent of his shares — and half of three Bay Area real estate properties: houses in Palo Alto and San Francisco, and a commercial building in Menlo Park. She felt blindsided and hurt. She refused. 2021 August 20, Daisuke Wakabayashi, “Who Gets the L.L.C.? Inside a Silicon Valley Billionaire’s Divorce.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • He had completed his plan to develop a new office building, but was blindsided by the sudden drop in real estate values.
   • The announcement blindsided employees, many of whom learned of the sudden ouster from an internal announcement and the company’s public facing blog. 2023 November 18, Blake Montgomery, Dani Anguiano, “OpenAI fires co-founder and CEO Sam Altman for allegedly lying to company board”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • But when they did arrive at 9am on Thursday, they were still able to blindside the Chelsea hierarchy. On Wednesday, they had certainly not anticipated the imposition of them the following morning. 2022 March 11, David Hytner, “Chelsea are in crisis but there is no will to leave club on their knees”, in The Guardian:

Forms

Deriveds

blindsider

Relateds

blind-site · blindsighted · blindsight

Translations (27)

de überraschend angreifen (To attack (a person) on their blind side) · nn overrumple (catch off guard) · ru уда́рить исподтишка (To attack (a person) on their blind side) · pl potrącić (To attack (a person) on their blind side) · pl zaskakiwać (catch off guard) · nb ta på sengen (catch off guard) · es cachar inadvertidamente (catch off guard) · pl zaskoczyć (catch off guard) · sv överrumpla (catch off guard) · de überraschen (catch off guard) · fr prendre par surprise (catch off guard) · nb overrumple (catch off guard) · de unerwartet herfallen über (To attack (a person) on their blind side) · de kalt erwischen (catch off guard) · es interprender (catch off guard) · es atacar por el lado ciego (To attack (a person) on their blind side) · ru застать врасплох (catch off guard) · pl potrącać (To attack (a person) on their blind side) · nb ta på sengen (To attack (a person) on their blind side) · sv ta på sängen (catch off guard) · nb overrumple (To attack (a person) on their blind side) · es pillar desprevenido (catch off guard) · de aus heiterem Himmel überfallen (To attack (a person) on their blind side) · de überrumpeln (catch off guard) · es ampayar con la guardia abajo (catch off guard) · nn ta på senga (catch off guard) · fi yllättää (catch off guard)