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
They admitted that, no matter which way you looked at it, Johnny Nolan was a handsome lovable fellow far superior to any man on the block.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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.
