building block

noun

1. block ( def 2 ).
2. one of a set of cube-shaped blocks used by children to make simple constructions.
3. a basic element or component:

   the building blocks of proteins.

building block

noun

1. a block of stone or other material, larger than a brick, used in building
2. a component that fits with others to form a whole

   standardized software building blocks

3. See block
   another name for (the child's toy) block

Word History and Origins

Origin of building block¹

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

Predicted by physicists Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig in 1964, quarks are the building blocks of most of the universe’s ordinary matter.

From Science News

At an ancient site situated among the hills of western Wales, researchers suspect they have uncovered the remnants of a stone circle that contained initial building blocks of Stonehenge.

From Science News

An SNP is an isolated change to DNA building blocks called nucleotides, which link together to form an individual’s unique genetic sequence.

From Popular-Science

The eureka moment was when the two scientists determined they could avoid the immune reaction by using chemically modified building blocks to make the RNA.

From MIT Technology Review

She’s heard of other parents, even her friends, giving kids money to invest without those building blocks first.

From Washington Post

Such practices are hardly surprising in themselves—working for nothing seems to be a key building block of the new economy.

From The Daily Beast

We also consider the family unit to be the fundamental building block of society.

From The Daily Beast

It is a building block of protein and found in large amounts in the brain, retina, heart, and blood platelets.

From The Daily Beast

It was the first British paper he bought, back in 1969, a key building block in what would become a global empire.

From The Daily Beast

But the early white settlers had firearms and skill in building block-houses, so they took to the valleys near wood and water.

From Project Gutenberg

I was shown in Virginia City a building block of land that rents for ten times what it cost four years ago.

From Project Gutenberg

The little one wanted to play "catch," but Susy saw a great deal more sport in building block houses.

From Project Gutenberg

It includes law of that time which is the same, similar, or a building block to the law of today.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• constituent
• ingredient