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• block
  block

  noun

  a solid mass of wood, stone, etc., usually with one or more flat or approximately flat faces.
• Block
  Block

  noun

  Herbert Lawrence Herblock, 1909–2001, U.S. cartoonist.

block

¹ American  

[blok] / blɒk /

noun

• blocks
  plural

1. a solid mass of wood, stone, etc., usually with one or more flat or approximately flat faces.

2. a hollow masonry building unit of cement, terracotta, etc..

   a wall made of concrete blocks.

3. one of a set of cube-shaped pieces of wood, plastic, or the like, used as a child's toy in building.

4. a mold or piece on which something is shaped or kept in shape.

   a hat block.

5. a piece of wood used in the art of making woodcuts or wood engravings.

6. Printing. the base on which a plate is mounted to make it type-high.

7. a projection left on a squared stone to provide a means of lifting it.

8. a short length of plank serving as a bridging, as between joists.

9. a stump or wooden structure on which a condemned person is beheaded.

   Mary Stuart went bravely to the block.

10. auction block.

11. Machinery. a part enclosing one or more freely rotating, grooved pulleys, about which ropes or chains pass to form a hoisting or hauling tackle.

12. an obstacle, obstruction, or hindrance.

    His stubbornness is a block to all my efforts.

    Synonyms:

    jam, stoppage, barrier, blockade, impediment

13. the state or condition of being obstructed; blockage.

    The traffic block lasted several hours.

14. Pathology.

    1. an obstruction, as of a nerve.

    2. heart block.

15. Sports. a hindering of an opponent's actions.

16. a quantity, portion, or section taken as a unit or dealt with at one time.

    a large block of theater tickets.

17. a small section of a city, town, etc., enclosed by neighboring and intersecting streets.

    She lives on my block.

18. the length of one side of such a section.

    We walked two blocks over.

19. Chiefly British. a large building divided into separate apartments, offices, shops, etc.

20. a large number of bonds or shares of stock sold together as a single unit.

21. Computers.

    1. a group of data stored as a unit on an external storage medium and handled as a unit by the computer for input or output.

       This file has 20 records per block.

    2. a section of storage locations in a computer allocated to a particular set of instructions or data.

    3. a group of consecutive machine words organized as a unit and guiding a particular computer operation, especially with reference to input and output.

    4. (on a flow chart) a symbol representing an operation, device, or instruction in a computer program.

22. Railroads. any of the short lengths into which a track is divided for signaling purposes.

23. Philately. a group of four or more unseparated stamps, not in a strip.

24. Slang. a person's head.

25. Glassmaking. a wooden or metal cup for blocking a gather.

26. an obstruction or stoppage in mental processes or speech, especially when related to stress, emotional conflict, etc.

27. writer's block.

28. Geology.

    1. any large, angular mass of solid rock.

    2. fault block.

29. (in Canada) a wild or remote area of land that has not yet been surveyed.

    the Peace River block.

30. Automotive. cylinder block.

31. Falconry. a low perch to which a falcon is tethered outdoors.

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verb (used with object)

• blocks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• blocked,
  past participle,  past
• blocking
  present participle

1. to obstruct (someone or something) by placing obstacles in the way (sometimes followed byup ).

   to block one's exit;

   to block up a passage.

   Synonyms:

   stop, deter, hinder, impede, blockade, close

2. to fit with blocks; mount on a block.

3. to shape or prepare on or with a block.

   to block a hat;

   to block a sweater.

4. to join (the ends of boards or the like) by fastening to a block of wood.

5. Theater.

   1. Also block out. to plan or work out the movement of performers in a play, pageant, etc..

      Tomorrow we'll block act one.

   2. to draw a floor plan on (a stage) in order to indicate placement of scenery, stage property, etc.

6. Pathology, Physiology. to stop the passage of impulses in (a nerve).

7. Computers. to group (contiguous data) together so as to allow to be read or written in a single operation.

8. Sports. to hinder or bar the actions or movements of (an opposing player), especially legitimately.

9. Glassmaking.

   1. to shape (a molten gather) in a wet cup of wood or metal.

   2. to plunge a block of wood into (molten glass) to aid in refining the glass.

10. Metalworking. to give (a forging) a rough form before finishing.

11. Electronics. to apply a high negative bias to the grid of (a vacuum tube), for reducing the plate current to zero.

verb (used without object)

• blocks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• blocked,
  past participle,  past
• blocking
  present participle

1. to act so as to obstruct an opponent, as in football, hockey, and basketball.

   He doesn't get many baskets, but he sure can block.

2. Theater. to block a play, act, scene, stage, etc..

   The director will block tomorrow.

3. to suffer a block.

verb phrase

1. block out

   1. block.

   2. Basketball. to box out.

2. block in / out to sketch or outline roughly or generally, without details.

   She blocked out a color scheme for the interiors.

idioms

1. put / go on the block, to offer or be offered for sale at auction.

   to put family heirlooms on the block.

Block ² American  

[blok] / blɒk /

noun

1. Herbert Lawrence Herblock, 1909–2001, U.S. cartoonist.

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block British  

/ blɒk /

noun

1. a large solid piece of wood, stone, or other material with flat rectangular sides, as for use in building

2. any large solid piece of wood, stone, etc, usually having at least one face fairly flat

3. such a piece on which particular tasks may be done, as chopping, cutting, or beheading

4. Also called: building block. one of a set of wooden or plastic cubes as a child's toy

5. a form on which things are shaped or displayed

   a wig block

6. slang a person's head (esp in the phrase knock someone's block off )

7. slang to become angry

8. a dull, unemotional, or hardhearted person

9. a large building of offices, flats, etc

10. 1. a group of buildings in a city bounded by intersecting streets on each side

    2. the area or distance between such intersecting streets

11. an area of land for a house, farm, etc

12. a log, usually a willow, fastened to a timber base and used in a wood-chopping competition

13. an area of land, esp one to be divided for building or settling

14. See cylinder block

15. 1. a piece of wood, metal, or other material having an engraved, cast, or carved design in relief, used either for printing or for stamping book covers, etc

    2. a letterpress printing plate, esp one mounted type-high on wood or metal

16. a casing housing one or more freely rotating pulleys See also block and tackle

17. up for auction

18. the act of obstructing or condition of being obstructed, as in sports

19. an obstruction or hindrance

20. pathol

    1. interference in the normal physiological functioning of an organ or part

    2. See heart block

    3. See nerve block

21. psychol a short interruption of perceptual or thought processes

22. obstruction of an opponent in a sport

23. 1. a section or quantity, as of tickets or shares, handled or considered as a single unit

    2. ( as modifier )

       a block booking

       block voting

24. 1. a stretch of railway in which only one train may travel at a time

    2. ( as modifier )

       a block signal

25. an unseparated group of four or more postage stamps Compare strip 1

26. a pad of paper

27. computing a group of words treated as a unit of data on a tape, disk, etc

28. athletics short for starting block

29. cricket a mark made near the popping crease by a batsman to indicate his position in relation to the wicket

30. informal a person who resembles one of his or her parents in behaviour

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verb

1. to shape or form (something) into a block

2. to fit with or mount on a block

3. to shape by use of a block

   to block a hat

4. (often foll by up) to obstruct (a passage, channel, etc) or prevent or impede the motion or flow of (something or someone) by introducing an obstacle

   to block the traffic

   to block up a pipe

5. to impede, retard, or prevent (an action, procedure, etc)

6. to stamp (a title, design, etc) on (a book cover, etc) by means of a block (see sense 12), esp using gold leaf or other foil

7. (esp of a government or central bank) to limit the use or conversion of assets or currency

8. (also intr) sport to obstruct or impede movement by (an opponent)

9. (intr) to suffer a psychological block

10. to interrupt a physiological function, as by use of an anaesthetic

11. (also intr) cricket to play (a ball) defensively

block More Idioms  

1. see chip off the old block; knock someone's block off; on the block; stumbling block.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• blocker
  noun
• subblock
  noun
• reblock
  verb (used with object)
• blockable
  adjective
• unblocked
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• blocks
  plural

Participles

• blocking
  present
• blocked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• block
  simple
• blocks
  simple
• have blocked
  perfect
• has blocked
  perfect
• am blocking
  progressive
• are blocking
  progressive
• is blocking
  progressive
• have been blocking
  perfect progressive
• has been blocking
  perfect progressive

Past

• blocked
  simple
• had blocked
  perfect
• was blocking
  progressive
• were blocking
  progressive
• had been blocking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will block
  simple
• will have blocked
  perfect
• will be blocking
  progressive
• will have been blocking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of block

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English blok “log, stump,” from Middle French bloc, from Middle Dutch blok; perhaps akin to balk

Explanation

A block is a painted wooden cube that kids build with, or a squarish chunk of anything, like a block of cheese or cement. And if you block someone, you prevent them from going past by getting in the way. A sculptor might carve a bird out of a block of marble, and you might eat a whole block of chocolate after dinner. Another block is the row of buildings or houses between four streets: "I'm walking the dog around the block." When block is a verb it means "to obstruct," like when you block your dog from going near the cat food. All these meanings stem from the Old French root bloc, "block of wood."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

block Block blocks blocked blocking

I showed up not long after doors opened and was greeted by two lengthy lines of well-dressed people crowding the block, tittering with expectation, interacting with myriad Ramp employees identifiable by those yellow lanyards.

From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026

Detectives also searched a second property in the 43000 block of Blooming Park Street in Lancaster on Tuesday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

The states and the Writers Guild of America sued in July to block the deal on antitrust grounds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

The 33-year-old is currently living in a hotel after being evacuated from her flat, in east London, following a fatal fire in her tower block earlier this month.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

At the end is a heavy metal door propped open to the outside with a block of wood.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

The states also responded to briefs from the Block the Merger coalition, a group of press freedom and film organizations that has called the settlement weak and unenforceable.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

Technical indicators speak to PayPal challenging Visa, Mastercard, and Block in coming months.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

Cregg on Big Block of Cheese Day to lobby for a change to the map, blowing her mind in the process by literally turning her world upside down.

From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026

The move from Block comes as many financial technology and payment companies are eyeing entrances into banking.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

He couldn’t be sure if it was near or far, but he remembered what he had heard under Block D, in front of the metal door, and he knew that he had arrived.

From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz

For Jenga, it was how to add weight to the tiny blocks to make sure they could stack well—players still need to use a toothpick to slide them out.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

But cladding campaigners believe a better approach would be to make sure all fire safety defects in tower blocks were addressed, not just cladding on exterior walls.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

A single mutation in the chain of amino acids, the protein "building blocks," was enough to make the antimicrobial peptide substantially more effective.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026

The gravitational joy of Wilson’s comic approach is watching how he follows his instincts and later applies his own sui generis mortar to the assembled vérité blocks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Instead he retreated to the farthest corner of the nursery, where he began building tall, wobbly towers out of square wooden blocks that he then proceeded to tip over with barely a hint of satisfaction.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

Indeed, I had blocked out most memories of that 2004 Fox reality train wreck until Carr’s documentary reached into my mind’s cobwebby attic and retrieved its cabinet of horrors.

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026

Quan said the reform is potentially helpful but said he knows of no instances in which commissions blocked an audit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Thousands of people, including the Sinn Féin First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill, blocked the road on Sunday and police stopped Orangemen leaving Drumcree Church.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Yaniv Hayun, a passenger, said in a video shared by Israel’s public broadcaster that he and another man found the door was unlocked but blocked by the fallen pilot, so they shoved it open.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

He couldn’t see the man’s face, because the tackler blocked his view.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

A local resident who rang the police said she saw a group of masked men near the vans, which were blocking a road in a village next to the military base.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

Apple’s latest version of iOS is blocking The Trade Desk from filling ad inventory on Safari.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Hundreds eventually spilled on to National Highway 44, a major route between Delhi and Punjab, blocking traffic for more than 15 hours.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

A shipping disaster in 2021 shows how blocking the strait — and thus severing a link to the Mediterranean Sea — could harm global commerce.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

A dark shadow loomed ahead of them, blocking their way.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

Related Words

• arrest
• bar
• blockade
• clog
• close
• close off
• cut off
• deter
• halt
• hinder
• hold up
• impede
• intercept
• obstruct
• prevent
• stall
• stop
• thwart