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Synonyms

building block

American  

noun

  1. block.

  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 British  

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

"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

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.

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

Before the clash, there was a sense that a positive performance in Madrid could be used as a building block for Tudor before a crucial game at Liverpool in the Premier League this weekend.

From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026

This method is based on the slow decay of radioactive carbon 14, a very minor component of carbon, the ubiquitous building block of life, into the nonradioactive isotope nitrogen 14.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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.