blocking
Americannoun
noun
-
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.
She was also warned by the host that their behaviour needed to improve or they could be told to leave, because they had left chairs blocking bins.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
He used multiple running backs and unpredictable blocking patterns to bamboozle opponents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
But the reality was that the city was on a war footing, a 4-foot wall of sand and rows of sandbags blocking off an ocean determined to reach the sidewalks nonetheless.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
These earlier observations helped researchers recognize that antibodies blocking IL-10 could produce effects similar to inherited defects involving the same protein or its receptor.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
Alfhercht pulled the bubble top shut, blocking out the falling dust and rocks, and the group went as fast as they could with their various injuries.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
