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 added that communities will have to be given the choice of blocking data centers.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
The road leading to Najib's upmarket residence was cordoned off with yellow police tape and traffic cones blocking access to the area, an AFP journalist saw at around noon.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
Meta agreed to pay up to $17 billion and make changes to its Facebook and Instagram platforms, including hiding likes and reactions and blocking teens from using extreme makeup filters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
Scientists have established that BFT attaches to claudin-4 and that blocking this interaction can protect mice from toxin-induced damage.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
Clare raced in front of her, blocking her from entering the woods.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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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.
