blocking
Americannoun
noun
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electronics the interruption of anode current in a valve because of the application of a high negative voltage to the grid
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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.
Blocking the messaging app entirely could lead to serious blowback.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
Blocking patterns are caused mostly due to changes in the jet stream - the fast wind high in the atmosphere.
From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026
Blocking and tackling on a flight, however, remains strictly forbidden.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2026
Blocking an IP address would not just deprive a repeat infringer of internet access, but also their household or co-workers.
From Slate • Nov. 28, 2025
Blocking the flashlight’s beam with my hand, I opened the diary and read the first entries.
From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn
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.
