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.
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.
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.
Geology.
any large, angular mass of solid rock.
(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.
to obstruct (someone or something) by placing obstacles in the way (sometimes followed byup ).
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.
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.
block out
Basketball. to box out.
block in / out to sketch or outline roughly or generally, without details.
She blocked out a color scheme for the interiors.
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 block. one of a set of wooden or plastic cubes as a child's toy
a form on which things are shaped or displayed
a wig block
slang a person's head (esp in the phrase knock someone's block off )
slang to 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
an area of land for a house, farm, etc
a 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
a letterpress printing plate, esp one mounted type-high on wood or metal
a casing housing one or more freely rotating pulleys See also block and tackle
up 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
psychol a 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 stamps Compare strip 1
a pad of paper
computing a group of words treated as a unit of data on a tape, disk, etc
athletics short for starting block
cricket a mark made near the popping crease by a batsman to indicate his position in relation to the wicket
informal a person who resembles one of his or her parents in behaviour
to shape or form (something) into a block
to fit with or mount on a block
to shape by use of a block
to 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 obstacle
to 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) sport to 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) cricket to play (a ball) defensively
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English blok “log, stump,” from Middle French bloc, from Middle Dutch blok; perhaps akin to balk
A block is a painted wooden cube that kids build with, or a squarish chunk of anything, like a block of cheese or cement. And if you block someone, you prevent them from going past by getting in the way. A sculptor might carve a bird out of a block of marble, and you might eat a whole block of chocolate after dinner. Another block is the row of buildings or houses between four streets: "I'm walking the dog around the block." When block is a verb it means "to obstruct," like when you block your dog from going near the cat food. All these meanings stem from the Old French root bloc, "block of wood."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Censors have tried to block the video to protect the boys' identity, although some people argue that it should stay.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Paramount, in its statement, noted the European Commission’s conclusions “directly refute key assumptions that underpin the state AGs’ complaint seeking to block the transaction,” including whether big-budget or blockbuster films should be considered a market.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Reuters, which like Politico derives much of its revenue from business-to-business offerings, said it is also weighing whether to block Google’s bot for its consumer-facing news product as traffic declines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
"Maybe I should have lain down on the floor to block it. I personally regret it," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
“You know what? I think I’m going to run over to Formann’s. I heard they did an expansion last year and the store runs the whole block now.”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
The incident spurred Michigan to ask law firm Jenner & Block to investigate the culture inside an athletic department that had been embroiled in a string of scandals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
As part of the bipartisan America 250 celebrations, communities across the country took part in "America's Block Party" and hosted local gatherings.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
The procession, scheduled from 6 to 7 p.m., caps the museum’s all-day Block Party, part of its grand opening weekend being held Thursday through Monday to celebrate the recently opened David Geffen Galleries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
While Freedom 250 is hosting a weeks-long "Great American State Fair" on the National Mall in Washington, America250 is planning several events outside of the US capital as part of its "America's Block Party" celebrations.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
As we turn to continue our walk back to Block 2, the Director’s very large presence steps in front of us, blotting out the sun.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Peptides are short chains of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
The crowd extended for blocks, jubilant, “like New York when the Knicks won,” a journalist who was there told me.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Opinion is divided on whether these are sensible building blocks for the economy which allow living standards to improve, or a "dysfunctional" economic straitjacket.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Caffeine also blocks a substance that can cause atrial fibrillation, an arrhythmia that can lead to strokes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
"Now we get out the knives and cut some blocks," he said.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
They blocked the enzyme using a small molecule known as pghi-4, which was first discovered in the Moses laboratory in 2020.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
A delayed rainy season between 2024 and 2025 blocked the emergence of the "ideal window for burning in certain areas" where fire is used to clear agricultural land, Alencar said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
The derivatives marketplaces alleges that perpetuals aren’t actually futures contracts but instead act as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act, which would mean they should be subject to stricter rules and blocked from retail traders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
More than 1,000 domains were shut down in the US alone during the tournament, with a similar number blocked in Colombia.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Cat caught quick glimpses of the ocean, but mostly the houses and dunes blocked the view from the road.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
The couple had sought to have their cases dismissed on grounds that blocking the funding violated the US Constitution's right to counsel of one's choice.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
As FTC chair under former President Joe Biden, she unsuccessfully challenged Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but succeeded in blocking the merger of grocery-store rivals Kroger’s and Albertsons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
At least five vehicles were reportedly blocking traffic lanes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Stale Solbakken's men defended in a 4-5-1 shape, blocking space, with England attacking in a 3-2-5 shape on the ball.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
Fine particles hung in the air around them, blocking light everywhere.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
Definitions 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.