a solid mass of wood, stone, etc., usually with one or more flat or approximately flat faces.
a hollow masonry building unit of cement, terracotta, etc.: a wall made of concrete blocks.
one of a set of cube-shaped pieces of wood, plastic, or the like, used as a child's toy in building.
a mold or piece on which something is shaped or kept in shape: a hat block.
a piece of wood used in the art of making woodcuts or wood engravings.
Printing. the base on which a plate is mounted to make it type-high.
a projection left on a squared stone to provide a means of lifting it.
a short length of plank serving as a bridging, as between joists.
a stump or wooden structure on which a condemned person is beheaded: Mary Stuart went bravely to the block.
auction block.
Machinery. a part enclosing one or more freely rotating, grooved pulleys, about which ropes or chains pass to form a hoisting or hauling tackle.
an obstacle, obstruction, or hindrance: His stubbornness is a block to all my efforts.
the state or condition of being obstructed; blockage: The traffic block lasted several hours.
Pathology.
an obstruction, as of a nerve.
heart block.
Sports. a hindering of an opponent's actions.
a quantity, portion, or section taken as a unit or dealt with at one time: a large block of theater tickets.
a small section of a city, town, etc., enclosed by neighboring and intersecting streets: She lives on my block.
the length of one side of such a section: We walked two blocks over.
Chiefly British. a large building divided into separate apartments, offices, shops, etc.
a large number of bonds or shares of stock sold together as a single unit.
Computers.
a group of data stored as a unit on an external storage medium and handled as a unit by the computer for input or output: This file has 20 records per block.
a section of storage locations in a computer allocated to a particular set of instructions or data.
a group of consecutive machine words organized as a unit and guiding a particular computer operation, especially with reference to input and output.
(on a flow chart) a symbol representing an operation, device, or instruction in a computer program.
Railroads. any of the short lengths into which a track is divided for signaling purposes.
Philately. a group of four or more unseparated stamps, not in a strip.
Slang. a person's head.
Glassmaking. a wooden or metal cup for blocking a gather.
an obstruction or stoppage in mental processes or speech, especially when related to stress, emotional conflict, etc.
writer's block.
Geology.
any large, angular mass of solid rock.
fault block.
(in Canada) a wild or remote area of land that has not yet been surveyed: the Peace River block.
Automotive. cylinder block.
Falconry. a low perch to which a falcon is tethered outdoors.
verb (used with object)
to obstruct (someone or something) by placing obstacles in the way (sometimes followed by up): to block one's exit; to block up a passage.
to fit with blocks; mount on a block.
to shape or prepare on or with a block: to block a hat; to block a sweater.
to join (the ends of boards or the like) by fastening to a block of wood.
Theater.
Also block out.to plan or work out the movement of performers in a play, pageant, etc.: Tomorrow we'll block act one.
to draw a floor plan on (a stage) in order to indicate placement of scenery, stage property, etc.
Pathology, Physiology. to stop the passage of impulses in (a nerve).
Computers. to group (contiguous data) together so as to allow to be read or written in a single operation.
Sports. to hinder or bar the actions or movements of (an opposing player), especially legitimately.
Glassmaking.
to shape (a molten gather) in a wet cup of wood or metal.
to plunge a block of wood into (molten glass) to aid in refining the glass.
Metalworking. to give (a forging) a rough form before finishing.
Electronics. to apply a high negative bias to the grid of (a vacuum tube), for reducing the plate current to zero.
verb (used without object)
to act so as to obstruct an opponent, as in football, hockey, and basketball: He doesn't get many baskets, but he sure can block.
Theater. to block a play, act, scene, stage, etc.: The director will block tomorrow.
to suffer a block.
Verb Phrases
block in / outto sketch or outline roughly or generally, without details: She blocked out a color scheme for the interiors.
block out,
block (def. 36a).
Basketball.to box out.
Idioms for block
put / go on the block, to offer or be offered for sale at auction: to put family heirlooms on the block.
Origin of block
1275–1325; Middle English blok log, stump (<Middle French bloc) <Middle Dutch blok; perhaps akin to balk
SYNONYMS FOR block
12 impediment, blockade, barrier, stoppage, jam.
32 close, blockade, impede; hinder, deter, stop.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR block ON THESAURUS.COM
OTHER WORDS FROM block
block·a·ble,adjectivere·block,verb (used with object)subblock,nounun·blocked,adjective
Church bells pealed from St. Catherine of Siena parish one block away.
The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise|Jason Berry|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
During his trek, Brinsley twice passed within a block of a police stationhouse and he almost certainly saw cops along the way.
Exclusive: Inside a Cop-Killer’s Final Hours|Michael Daly|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Block 3F is slated for release in 2019, but who knows how much that will slip?
New U.S. Stealth Jet Can’t Fire Its Gun Until 2019|Dave Majumdar|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After walking block after block holding that container, he had suddenly discarded it and was now clutching a gun.
Exclusive: Inside a Cop-Killer’s Final Hours|Michael Daly|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If someone wants to ensure a direct and secure connection, no entity, whether a hotel or otherwise, should be able to block it.
How ‘Ethical’ Hotel Chain Marriott Gouges Guests in the Name of Wi-Fi Security|Kyle Chayka|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The race course was round a block; that is, about three quarters of a mile.
Stories of American Life and Adventure|Edward Eggleston
Then it is laid with the part of the pipe that is to be cut resting on a block of wood.
Elements of Plumbing|Samuel Dibble
A quartermaster, summoned from the forecastle, hoisted a block and tackle to a derrick.
His Unknown Wife|Louis Tracy
The holding-rope passes through that block, and there's a knife-blade in the block over the rope.
Careers of Danger and Daring|Cleveland Moffett
Two of its ducal owners passed from it to the block on Tower Hill.
The Quiver, Annual Volume 10/1899|Various
British Dictionary definitions for block
block
/ (blɒk) /
noun
a large solid piece of wood, stone, or other material with flat rectangular sides, as for use in building
any large solid piece of wood, stone, etc, usually having at least one face fairly flat
such a piece on which particular tasks may be done, as chopping, cutting, or beheading
Also called: building blockone of a set of wooden or plastic cubes as a child's toy
a form on which things are shaped or displayeda wig block
slanga person's head (esp in the phrase knock someone's block off)
do one's blockAustralian and NZslangto become angry
a dull, unemotional, or hardhearted person
a large building of offices, flats, etc
a group of buildings in a city bounded by intersecting streets on each side
the area or distance between such intersecting streets
Australian and NZan area of land for a house, farm, etc
Australian and NZa log, usually a willow, fastened to a timber base and used in a wood-chopping competition
an area of land, esp one to be divided for building or settling
See cylinder block
a piece of wood, metal, or other material having an engraved, cast, or carved design in relief, used either for printing or for stamping book covers, etc
Britisha letterpress printing plate, esp one mounted type-high on wood or metal
a casing housing one or more freely rotating pulleysSee also block and tackle
on the blockmainlyUS and Canadianup for auction
the act of obstructing or condition of being obstructed, as in sports
an obstruction or hindrance
pathol
interference in the normal physiological functioning of an organ or part
See heart block
See nerve block
psychola short interruption of perceptual or thought processes
obstruction of an opponent in a sport
a section or quantity, as of tickets or shares, handled or considered as a single unit
(as modifier)a block booking; block voting
a stretch of railway in which only one train may travel at a time
(as modifier)a block signal
an unseparated group of four or more postage stampsCompare strip 1 (def. 3)
a pad of paper
computinga group of words treated as a unit of data on a tape, disk, etc
athletics short for starting block
cricketa mark made near the popping crease by a batsman to indicate his position in relation to the wicket
a chip off the old blockinformala person who resembles one of his or her parents in behaviour
verb(mainly tr)
to shape or form (something) into a block
to fit with or mount on a block
to shape by use of a blockto block a hat
(often foll by up)to obstruct (a passage, channel, etc) or prevent or impede the motion or flow of (something or someone) by introducing an obstacleto block the traffic; to block up a pipe
to impede, retard, or prevent (an action, procedure, etc)
to stamp (a title, design, etc) on (a book cover, etc) by means of a block (see sense 12), esp using gold leaf or other foil
(esp of a government or central bank) to limit the use or conversion of assets or currency
(also intr)sportto obstruct or impede movement by (an opponent)
(intr)to suffer a psychological block
to interrupt a physiological function, as by use of an anaesthetic
(also intr)cricketto play (a ball) defensively
See also block in, block out
Derived forms of block
blocker, noun
Word Origin for block
C14: from Old French bloc, from Dutch blok; related to Old High German bloh