English
block
see also: Block
Pronunciation Noun

block (plural blocks)

  1. A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance.
    • 1945 August 17, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter 1, in Animal Farm: A Fairy Story, London: Secker & Warburg, OCLC 3655473 ↗:
      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 block of ice
    a block of stone
  2. A chopping block; cuboid base for cutting or beheading.
    Anne Boleyn placed her head on the block and awaited her execution.
  3. A group of urban lots of property, several acres in extent, not crossed by public streets.
    I'm going for a walk around the block.
  4. A residential building consisting of flats.
    a block of flats
  5. The distance from one street to another in a city that is built (approximately) to a grid pattern.
    The place you are looking for is two long blocks east and one short block north.
  6. Interference or obstruction of cognitive processes.
    a mental block
    writer's block
  7. (slang) The human head.
    I'll knock your block off!
  8. A wig block: a simplified head model upon which wigs are worn.
    • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, chapter 13
      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.
  9. A mould on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped.
    • 1598–1599 (first performance)​, William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene i]:
      He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat; it ever changes with the next block.
  10. A set of sheets (of paper) joined together at one end.
    a block of 100 tickets
  11. (computing) A logical data storage unit containing one or more physical sectors (see cluster).
  12. (programming) A region of code in a program that acts as a single unit, such as a function or loop.
  13. (cryptography) A fixed-length group of bits making up part of a message.
  14. (nautical) A case with one or more sheaves/pulleys, used with ropes to increase or redirect force, for example, as part of the rigging of a sailing ship.
  15. (chemistry) A portion of a macromolecule, comprising many units, that has at least one feature not present in adjacent portions.
  16. Something that prevents something from passing.
    Synonyms: barrier, blockage, obstruction
    There's a block in the pipe that means the water can't get through.
  17. (sports) An action to interfere with the movement of an opposing player or of the object of play (ball, puck).
  18. (cricket) A shot played by holding the bat vertically in the path of the ball, so that it loses momentum and drops to the ground.
  19. (volleyball) A defensive play by one or more players meant to deflect a spiked ball back to the hitter’s court.
  20. (philately) A joined group of four (or in some cases nine) postage stamps, forming a roughly square shape.
  21. A section of split logs used as fuel.
    • 1833, The Gospel Anchor (volume 2, page 371)
      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.'
    • 2012, Ron Herrett, Shorty's Story
      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.
  22. (UK) Solitary confinement.
  23. A cellblock.
  24. (falconry) The perch on which a bird of prey is kept.
  25. (printing, dated) A piece of hard wood on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted.
  26. (obsolete) A blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt.
    • c. 1590–1591, William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act II, scene v]:
      What a block art thou!
  27. (rail) A section of a railroad where the block system is used.
  28. (cricket) The position of a player or bat when guarding the wicket.
  29. (cricket) A blockhole.
  30. (cricket) The popping crease.
Synonyms Related terms Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • Russian: блок
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Verb

block (blocks, present participle blocking; past and past participle blocked)

  1. (transitive) To fill (something) so that it is not possible to pass.
    The pipe is blocked.
  2. (transitive) To prevent (something or someone) from passing.
    You're blocking the road – I can't get through!
  3. (transitive) To prevent (something from happening or someone from doing something).
    His plan to take over the business was blocked by the boss.
  4. (transitive, sports) To impede an opponent.
    He blocked the basketball player's shot.
    The offensive linemen tried to block the blitz.
  5. (transitive, theater) To specify the positions and movements of the actors.
    It was very difficult to block this scene convincingly.
  6. (transitive, cricket) To hit with a block.
  7. (intransitive, cricket) To play a block shot.
  8. (transitive) To disable communication via telephone, instant messaging, etc., with an undesirable someone.
    I tried to send you a message, but you've blocked me!
  9. (computing, intransitive) To wait.
    When the condition expression is false, the thread blocks on the condition variable.
  10. (transitive) To stretch or mould (a knitted item, a hat, etc.) into the desired shape.
    I blocked the mittens by wetting them and pinning them to a shaped piece of cardboard.
  11. (transitive) To shape or sketch out roughly.
Related terms Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Noun
  1. Misspelling of bloc
Block
Proper noun
  1. Surname
    • 1994, Tom Pendergast, ‎Sara Pendergast, Gay & Lesbian Literature: Introduction to gay male literature (page 37)
      The major themes in Francesca Lia Block's books include the necessity of love and the acceptance of and celebration of racial and sexual difference.


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