Pronunciations (2)
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/blɒk/
Pronunciation notes
- Received-Pronunciation
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/blɑk/
Pronunciation notes
- General-American
Noun
A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance.
- Examples
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a block of ice; a block of stone
She picked up the block and examined it.
A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance. A chopping block: a cuboid base for cutting or beheading.
- Examples
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Anne Boleyn placed her head on the block and awaited her execution.
You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year.
A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance. A wig block: a simplified head model upon which wigs are worn.
- Examples
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Next morning, Monday, after disposing of the embalmed head to a barber, for a block, I settled my own and comrade’s bill; using, however, my comrade’s money.
A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance. A mould on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped.
- Examples
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He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat; it ever changes with the next block.
A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance. A piece of hard wood on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted.
Usage- Dated
A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance. A case or frame housing one or more sheaves (pulleys), used with ropes to increase or redirect force, for example as part of lifting gear or a sailing ship's rigging. See also block and tackle.
- Synonyms
A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance. A section of split logs used as fuel.
- Examples
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She said, 'I hope I shall not be left to kill myself, but It would be no more sin to kill me, than to put a block on the fire.'
"Aye," said the farmer putting another block on the fire as he spoke […]
More examples (1)
Dawn and Shorty would cut this tree into blocks, while Randy and Matt went back for more. Dawn and Shorty made a good team on the crosscut, so when another log arrived, the first was almost completely made into shake wood.
A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance. A set of sheets (of paper) joined together at one end, forming a cuboid shape.
- Examples
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a block of 100 tickets
A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance. The perch on which a bird of prey is kept.
A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance. In Conway's Game of Life, a still life consisting of four living cells arranged in a two-by-two square.
- Examples
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More examples (1)
But there are many queen bee configurations in which the debris is neutralized, including placement of a block or eater near the bee's turnaround point, or placing two queen bees in a line or at right angles in various positions and phases.
Perhaps the simplest puffer known is the following period 20 puffer based on the period 20 spaceship, which creates blocks.
More examples (1)
Blocks have a couple of unusual properties: they are cleanly destroyed by an incoming glider on any one of six adjacent paths, and none of the possible collisions include any output gliders, so you can't get chain reactions.
A physical area or extent of something, often rectangular or approximately rectangular.
- Examples
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a block of text; a block of colour; a block of land
A physical area or extent of something, often rectangular or approximately rectangular. A joined group of four (or in some cases nine) postage stamps, forming a roughly square shape.
A physical area or extent of something, often rectangular or approximately rectangular. A discrete group of vines in a vineyard, often distinguished from others by variety, clone, canopy training method, irrigation infrastructure, or some combination thereof.
A logical extent or region; a grouping or apportionment of like things treated together as a unit.
- Examples
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a block of data; a block of seven days; a block reservation
More examples (1)
The great game of golf offered an antidote to the inevitable dead space — blocks of difficult-to-use hours, pre- and postflight — that are one of business travel’s biggest drags.
A logical extent or region; a grouping or apportionment of like things treated together as a unit. A logical data storage unit containing one or more physical sectors.
- Examples
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After one disk is mapped, the next block starts at address 0 on the next disk.
More examples (1)
The difficulty of each puzzle would increase as the number of miners increased, which would keep production to one block of transactions roughly every 10 minutes. In addition, the size of each block bounty would halve every 210,000 blocks—first from 50 bitcoins to 25, then from 25 to 12.5, and so on. Around the year 2140, the currency would reach its preordained limit of 21 million bitcoins.
A logical extent or region; a grouping or apportionment of like things treated together as a unit. A region of code in a program that acts as a single unit, such as a function or loop.
- Examples
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With a foreach block, you don't need to create an explicit counter variable.
A logical extent or region; a grouping or apportionment of like things treated together as a unit. A fixed-length group of bits making up part of a message.
A logical extent or region; a grouping or apportionment of like things treated together as a unit. A portion of a macromolecule, comprising many units, that has at least one feature not present in adjacent portions.
A logical extent or region; a grouping or apportionment of like things treated together as a unit. A section of a railroad where the block system is used.
A logical extent or region; a grouping or apportionment of like things treated together as a unit. A contiguous range of Unicode code points used to encode characters of a specific type; can be of any size evenly divisible by 16, up to 65,536 (a full plane).
- Examples
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The "Specials" block comprises the sixteen codepoints from U+FFF0 through U+FFFF.
A logical extent or region; a grouping or apportionment of like things treated together as a unit. A yeargroup at Eton College.
A contiguous group of urban lots of property, typically several acres in extent, not crossed by public streets.
- Examples
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I’m going for a walk around the block.
A contiguous group of urban lots of property, typically several acres in extent, not crossed by public streets. The distance from one street to another in a city or suburb that is built (approximately) to a grid pattern.
- Synonyms
- Examples
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The place you are looking for is two long blocks east and one short block north.
More examples (3)
The Witness: Well, I have one that is 8/10 of a mile away; I have one that is just about another 8/10 of a mile away; I have one that is three blocks away; I have one that is four blocks away; I have one that is eight blocks away, and I have one that is about 14 blocks away.
This uphill trail is like a battlefield. Anne offers to carry the older woman's backpack. […] I couldn't walk three blocks with the Danish woman's bulging backpack.
A county courthouse and a municipal building, located approximately a city block north of the district, were automatically excluded because they were separated from the main CBD by several blocks that did not reach either of the required index values.
A cuboid or approximately cuboid building.
- Examples
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a block of flats; a tower block; an office block; a toilet block; a shower block
More examples (1)
He turned back to the scene before him and the enormous new block of council dwellings. The design was some way after Corbusier but the block was built up on plinths and resembled an Atlantic liner swimming diagonally across the site.
A cuboid or approximately cuboid building. A cellblock.
Something that prevents something from passing.
- Synonyms
- Examples
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There’s a block in the pipe that means the water can’t get through.
Something that prevents something from passing. Interference or obstruction of cognitive processes.
- Examples
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I work with writers/artists/others using artistic skills as a tool to explore blocks and free creative energy.
a mental block
More examples (1)
writer’s block
Something that prevents something from passing. Any point on the board where two or more men rest, and consequently an opponent may not land.
Something that prevents something from passing. An action to interfere with the movement of an opposing player or of the object of play (ball, puck).
- Examples
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More examples (1)
The match proved an unedifying spectacle until Spurs won a corner following their first move of real quality, John Mensah making an important block with Jermain Defoe poised to strike.
Something that prevents something from passing. An action to interfere with the movement of an opposing player or of the object of play (ball, puck). A shot played by holding the bat vertically in the path of the ball, so that it loses momentum and drops to the ground.
Something that prevents something from passing. An action to interfere with the movement of an opposing player or of the object of play (ball, puck). The position of a player or bat when guarding the wicket.
Something that prevents something from passing. An action to interfere with the movement of an opposing player or of the object of play (ball, puck). A blockhole.
Something that prevents something from passing. An action to interfere with the movement of an opposing player or of the object of play (ball, puck). The popping crease.
Something that prevents something from passing. An action to interfere with the movement of an opposing player or of the object of play (ball, puck). A defensive play by one or more players meant to deflect a spiked ball back to the hitter’s court.
Something that prevents something from passing. An action to interfere with the movement of an opposing player or of the object of play (ball, puck). The portion of the movement where a gymnast pushes off the vault.
- Examples
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More examples (1)
While it might seem like she should bend her elbows in order to spring up — the way you bend your knees in order to jump — a good block actually requires the gymnast to keep her arms straight and use her shoulder strength to launch into the air.
Something that prevents something from passing. A temporary or permanent ban that prevents access to an online account or service, or connection to or from a designated telephone number, IP address, or similar.
- Synonyms
- Examples
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The Wiktionary page-blanking vandal was hit with an indefinite block.
I’ve put a block on calls from that number.
The human head.
Usage- Slang
- Examples
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I’ll knock your block off!
Solitary confinement.
Usage- UK usage
A blockhead; a stupid person; a dolt.
Usage- Obsolete
- Examples
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What a block art thou!
Verb
To fill or obstruct (something) so that it is not possible to pass.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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The pipe was blocked by leaves.
You’re blocking the road – I can’t get through!
More examples (2)
Despite the fact that ice blocks its harbors in heavy winters, the Baltic has become one of the world's most active seas.
However, at Manchester the junctions and signals are so close that a train running more slowly over several junctions simply blocks those junctions for longer, preventing other trains moving.
To prevent (something or someone) from passing.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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A broken-down car is blocking the traffic.
To prevent (something from happening or someone from doing something).
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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His plan to take over the business was blocked by the boss.
More examples (1)
Mr. Ip, who was the chairman of the Yau Tsim Mong district council, became a target of protesters in July after he blocked debate on the extradition bill that incited the protests this summer.
To impede (an opponent or opponent’s play).
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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He blocked the basketball player’s shot.
The offensive linemen tried to block the blitz.
To specify the positions and movements of the actors for (a section of a play or film).
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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It was very difficult to block this scene convincingly.
To hit with a block.
Usage- Transitive
To play a block shot.
Usage- Intransitive
To bar (impose a ban on a person or bot, etc.) from connecting via telephone, instant messaging, etc., or from accessing an online account or service, or similar.
Usage- Transitive
- Synonyms
- Examples
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I tried to send you a message, but you’ve blocked me!
The user who started the edit war was blocked for a day to cool off.
More examples (1)
He messages her occasionally on Facebook, sending photos of grandkids and puppies he’s raised. Every year, he wishes her a happy birthday. She has not replied, but she has also not blocked him.
To bar (a message or communication), or bar connection with (an online account or service, a designated telephone number, IP address, etc.).
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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They’ve blocked all calls to international numbers.
Most Internet services have been blocked.
To wait for some condition to become true.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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When the condition expression is false, the thread blocks on the condition variable.
More examples (1)
Post is a “fire and forget” where the UI thread work is performed asynchronously; Send is synchronous in that the call blocks until the UI thread work has been performed.
To shape, stretch, or mould knitted items, hats, books (and book covers), shoes, etc.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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I blocked the mittens by wetting them and pinning them to a shaped piece of cardboard.
More examples (1)
Then I finished knitting the socks and wove in all ends for each sock before soaking them in warm water and wool wash for 20 minutes and blocking them on sock blockers.
To shape or sketch out roughly.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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When drawing a scene, first block the main features, and then fill in the detail.
To experience mental block or creative block.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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More examples (1)
As I started to read the stories I thought, "I have to write my story," but I blocked on it for six months. I couldn't write anything else while I couldn't write my coming out story. It seemed to me a subterfuge to turn out an anthology of coming out stories which didn't have my story in it.
To knock the hat of (a person) down over their eyes.
Usage- Obsolete
- Slang
- Transitive
- Synonyms
To reject or not play into one's scene partner during improv.
Noun
a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)
- Examples
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the pyramids were built with large stone blocks
a rectangular area in a city surrounded by streets and usually containing several buildings
- Synonyms
- Examples
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he lives in the next block
a three-dimensional shape with six square or rectangular sides
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
a number or quantity of related things dealt with as a unit
- Broader terms
- Examples
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he reserved a large block of seats
he held a large block of the company's stock
housing in a large building that is divided into separate units
- Broader terms
- Examples
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there is a block of classrooms in the west wing
(computer science) a sector or group of sectors that function as the smallest data unit permitted
- Broader terms
- Examples
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since blocks are often defined as a single sector, the terms ‘block’ and ‘sector’ are sometimes used interchangeably
an inability to remember or think of something you normally can do; often caused by emotional tension
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
- Examples
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I knew his name perfectly well but I had a temporary block
a simple machine consisting of a wheel with a groove in which a rope can run to change the direction or point of application of a force applied to the rope
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
a metal casting containing the cylinders and cooling ducts of an engine
- Synonyms
- Examples
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the engine had to be replaced because the block was cracked
an obstruction in a pipe or tube
- Broader terms
- Examples
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we had to call a plumber to clear out the blockage in the drainpipe
a platform from which an auctioneer sells
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
- Examples
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they put their paintings on the block
the act of obstructing or deflecting someone's movements
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
Verb
render unsuitable for passage
- Examples
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block the way
barricade the streets
More examples (1)
stop the busy road
hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of
- Examples
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His brother blocked him at every turn
stop from happening or developing
- Examples
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Block his election
Halt the process
interfere with or prevent the reception of signals
- Synonyms
- Examples
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Jam the Voice of America
block the signals emitted by this station
run on a block system
- Examples
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block trains
interrupt the normal function of by means of anesthesia
- Examples
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block a nerve
block a muscle
shut out from view or get in the way so as to hide from sight
- Synonyms
- Examples
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The thick curtain blocked the action on the stage
The trees obstruct my view of the mountains
stamp or emboss a title or design on a book with a block
- Examples
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block the book cover
obstruct
- Examples
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My nose is all stuffed
Her arteries are blocked
block passage through
- Examples
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obstruct the path
support, secure, or raise with a block
- Examples
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block a plate for printing
block the wheels of a car
impede the movement of (an opponent or a ball)
- Broader terms
- Examples
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block an attack
be unable to remember
- Synonyms
- Examples
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I'm drawing a blank
You are blocking the name of your first wife!
shape by using a block
- Examples
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Block a hat
block a garment
shape into a block or blocks
- Examples
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block the graphs so one can see the results clearly
prohibit the conversion or use of (assets)
- Synonyms
- Antonyms
- Examples
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Blocked funds
Freeze the assets of this hostile government