block

[ blok ]

/ blɒk /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for block on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

a hollow masonry building unit of cement, terracotta, etc.: a wall made of concrete blocks.

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

a mold or piece on which something is shaped or kept in shape: a hat block.

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

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

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

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

a stump or wooden structure on which a condemned person is beheaded: Mary Stuart went bravely to the block.

auction block.

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

an obstacle, obstruction, or hindrance: His stubbornness is a block to all my efforts.

the state or condition of being obstructed; blockage: The traffic block lasted several hours.

Pathology.

an obstruction, as of a nerve.
heart block.

Sports. a hindering of an opponent's actions.

a quantity, portion, or section taken as a unit or dealt with at one time: a large block of theater tickets.

a small section of a city, town, etc., enclosed by neighboring and intersecting streets: She lives on my block.

the length of one side of such a section: We walked two blocks over.

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

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

Computers.

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.
a section of storage locations in a computer allocated to a particular set of instructions or data.
a group of consecutive machine words organized as a unit and guiding a particular computer operation, especially with reference to input and output.
(on a flow chart) a symbol representing an operation, device, or instruction in a computer program.

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

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

Slang. a person's head.

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

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

writer's block.

Geology.

any large, angular mass of solid rock.
fault block.

(in Canada) a wild or remote area of land that has not yet been surveyed: the Peace River block.

Automotive. cylinder block.

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

verb (used with object)

to obstruct (someone or something) by placing obstacles in the way (sometimes followed by up): to block one's exit; to block up a passage.

to fit with blocks; mount on a block.

to shape or prepare on or with a block: to block a hat; to block a sweater.

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

Theater.

Also block out. to plan or work out the movement of performers in a play, pageant, etc.: Tomorrow we'll block act one.
to draw a floor plan on (a stage) in order to indicate placement of scenery, stage property, etc.

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

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

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

Glassmaking.

to shape (a molten gather) in a wet cup of wood or metal.
to plunge a block of wood into (molten glass) to aid in refining the glass.

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

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)

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.

Theater. to block a play, act, scene, stage, etc.: The director will block tomorrow.

to suffer a block.

Verb Phrases

block in / out to sketch or outline roughly or generally, without details: She blocked out a color scheme for the interiors.

block out,

block (def. 36a).
Basketball. to box out.

OTHER WORDS FOR block

12 impediment, blockade, barrier, stoppage, jam.

32 close, blockade, impede; hinder, deter, stop.

See synonyms for block on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about block

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

Origin of block

1275–1325; Middle English blok log, stump (<Middle French bloc) <Middle Dutch blok; perhaps akin to balk

OTHER WORDS FROM block

block·a·ble, adjectivere·block, verb (used with object)subblock, nounun·blocked, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH block

bloc, block

Words nearby block

bloated, bloater, blob, bloc, Bloch, block, blockade, blockade-runner, blockage, block and tackle, block association

Other definitions for block (2 of 2)

Block

[ blok ]

/ blɒk /

noun

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use block in a sentence

The block highlighted in red was the one above which the blocks were no longer balanced.
How Many Ways Can You Build A Staircase?|Zach Wissner-Gross|February 26, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
Some will guard from their cars, while others will pace around the block, flashlights in hand.
An Asian American family was being harassed. Neighbors now stand guard each night at their home.|Sydney Page|February 26, 2021|Washington Post
Since larger blocks of ice take longer to melt, this system can safely be used over long periods during entertaining without added refrigeration.
Best ice pick: A versatile winter tool for camping and more|PopSci Commerce Team|February 25, 2021|Popular-Science
Whetstones are essentially blocks of sandpaper in different textures.
The best knife sharpener to keep your blades safe and effective|Edmund Torr|February 25, 2021|Popular-Science

Some volunteers drive more than an hour to walk these blocks — largely deserted by a combination of fear and pandemic lockdown — to hand out bilingual fliers that explain how to report a crime to police.
‘Nobody came, nobody helped’: Fears of anti-Asian violence rattle the community|Marian Liu, Rachel Hatzipanagos|February 25, 2021|Washington Post
Church bells pealed from St. Catherine of Siena parish one block away.
The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise|Jason Berry|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
During his trek, Brinsley twice passed within a block of a police stationhouse and he almost certainly saw cops along the way.
Exclusive: Inside a Cop-Killer’s Final Hours|Michael Daly|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Block 3F is slated for release in 2019, but who knows how much that will slip?
New U.S. Stealth Jet Can’t Fire Its Gun Until 2019|Dave Majumdar|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After walking block after block holding that container, he had suddenly discarded it and was now clutching a gun.
Exclusive: Inside a Cop-Killer’s Final Hours|Michael Daly|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If someone wants to ensure a direct and secure connection, no entity, whether a hotel or otherwise, should be able to block it.
How ‘Ethical’ Hotel Chain Marriott Gouges Guests in the Name of Wi-Fi Security|Kyle Chayka|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Spanish troops did not care to venture past a block of buildings in which were the offices and stores of a British firm.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
The upper block was left a little thicker, the junction or root of the neck necessitating this.
Antonio Stradivari|Horace William Petherick
The long unbroken block had as many and as various stores as are generally spread over the entire area of a town.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
It had been very scanty information and late in its arrival—too late to enable the master manhunter to block the plan.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
How I do wish sometimes to give Ritchie a jog, when there is some stumbling-block that he sticks fast at.
The Daisy Chain|Charlotte Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for block

block

/ (blɒk) /

noun

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

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

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

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

a form on which things are shaped or displayeda wig block

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

do one's block Australian and NZ slang to become angry

a dull, unemotional, or hardhearted person

a large building of offices, flats, etc

a group of buildings in a city bounded by intersecting streets on each side
the area or distance between such intersecting streets

Australian and NZ an area of land for a house, farm, etc

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

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

See cylinder block

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

a casing housing one or more freely rotating pulleysSee also block and tackle

on the block mainly US and Canadian up for auction

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

an obstruction or hindrance

pathol

interference in the normal physiological functioning of an organ or part
See heart block
See nerve block

psychol a short interruption of perceptual or thought processes

obstruction of an opponent in a sport

a section or quantity, as of tickets or shares, handled or considered as a single unit
(as modifier)a block booking; block voting

a stretch of railway in which only one train may travel at a time
(as modifier)a block signal

an unseparated group of four or more postage stampsCompare strip 1 (def. 3)

a pad of paper

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

athletics short for starting block

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

a chip off the old block informal a person who resembles one of his or her parents in behaviour

verb (mainly tr)

to shape or form (something) into a block

to fit with or mount on a block

to shape by use of a blockto block a hat

(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 obstacleto block the traffic; to block up a pipe

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

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

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

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

(intr) to suffer a psychological block

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

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

Derived forms of block

blocker, noun

Word Origin for block

C14: from Old French bloc, from Dutch blok; related to Old High German bloh

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with block

block

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

block

OTHER WORDS FOR block

Idioms about block

Origin of block

OTHER WORDS FROM block

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH block

Words nearby block

Other definitions for block (2 of 2)

Words related to block

How to use block in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for block

Derived forms of block

Word Origin for block

Other Idioms and Phrases with block