- present participle of block.
blocking
Americannoun
noun
-
electronics the interruption of anode current in a valve because of the application of a high negative voltage to the grid
-
internal congestion in a communication system that prevents the transmission of information
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of blocking
Explanation
When you obstruct someone from seeing or doing something, that's blocking. In most sports, blocking your opponent is a huge part of playing the game. Blocking the player who's trying to make a basket is one kind of blocking. There's also blocking a street for the neighborhood block party, or blocking your ex-friend on social media. In each case, you're cutting off access in some way. In theater, the word takes on a different meaning, "the staging of actors." This use stems from the 19th-century theater, when directors would frequently use wooden blocks to plan out the actors' positions on a miniature stage.
Vocabulary lists containing blocking
Academic and Literary Vocabulary, Unit 2
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Academic Vocabulary and Literary Terms, Unit 5
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The Black Girl Survives in This One
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Day was given a conditional discharge in June 2024 for failing to remove a facial disguise and received £200 in fines in November 2024 for blocking a road during a protest.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
As FTC chair under former President Joe Biden, she unsuccessfully challenged Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but succeeded in blocking the merger of grocery-store rivals Kroger’s and Albertsons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
A passenger with a buggy had been unable to move down the bus because the bag was blocking the luggage bay.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The social media rule is expected to be rolled out in two stages, the first blocking under-15s from creating new accounts from September 1.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Ama unleashes an Adinkra spell that sprouts a gigantic wall of ferns, blocking the thorned thicket on the other side.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
