snatch block

American

noun

Nautical.

a fairlead having the form of a block that can be opened to receive the bight of a rope at any point along its length.

snatch block British

noun

nautical a block that can be opened so that a rope can be inserted from the side, without threading it through from the end

"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 snatch block

First recorded in 1615–25

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023