noun
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a block of stone or other material, larger than a brick, used in building
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a component that fits with others to form a whole
standardized software building blocks
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another name for (the child's toy) block
Etymology
Origin of building block
First recorded in 1840–50
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.
Can Carleton be a building block player for a new franchise?
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026
It will be a building block and a key ingredient in every new “unicorn” — a company with a valuation of at least $1 billion.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026
Their design could also be integrated with other quantum technologies, serving as a building block for connecting different types of quantum platforms.
From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026
In its primordial form, liberalism was a political belief that the building block of society is the individual—an idea tethered loosely to the Christian notion that every single human being contains a divine spark.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
It also provided a key building block in one of the most crucial, emerging principles of the science of attention: There is a tension going on inside the brain.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
