on the block
Idioms-
. Offer for sale, as in These paintings will all be put on the block . This usage alludes to the auction block, the platform from which the auctioneer sells, so called since the mid-1800s.
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put one's head on the block . Take a great risk, make oneself vulnerable, as in I'm not going to put my head on the block just to save her reputation . This usage alludes to the executioner's block, on which victims are beheaded, so called since the mid-1500s.
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.
Shortly to join the new bulls on the block?
From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026
When you don’t listen to the world’s greatest investor, and he also happens to control a huge chunk of your shares, don’t be surprised when they’re put on the block.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026
Work on the block was halted by an HSE "prohibition notice" in March 2024.
From BBC • Dec. 12, 2025
Founded in 2015, IonQ may be the new kid on the block, but it has quickly set to work landing contracts and building relationships with potential customers.
From Barron's • Dec. 11, 2025
I knew what I wanted was to hear Pedro and Willie and Tommy and all the other brothers and sisters on the block talking about that kid.
From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers
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.
