Adjacent Words

Block definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BLOCK, n.
1. A heavy piece of timber or wood, usually with one plain surface;or it is rectangular, and rather thick than long.
2. Any mass of matter with an extended surface; as a block of marble, a piece rough from the quarry.
3. A massy body, solid and heavy; a mass of wood, iron, or other metal, with at least one plain surface, such as artificers use.
4. The wood on which criminals are beheaded.
5. Any obstruction, or cause of obstruction; a stop; hindrance; obstacle.
6. A piece of wood in which a pulley runs; used also for the pulley, or the block itself and the sheaves, or wheels.
7. A blockhead; a stupid fellow.
8. Among cutters in wood, a form made of hard wood, on which they cut figures in relief with knives,chisels, etc.
9. In falconry, the perch whereon a bird of prey is kept.
BLOCK, v.t. To inclose or shut up, so as to hinder egress or passage; to stop up; to obstruct,by placing obstacles in the way; often followed by up; as, to block up a town,or a road.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides); "the pyramids were built with large stone blocks"
2: a rectangular area in a city surrounded by streets and usually containing several buildings; "he lives in the next block" [syn: block, city block]
3: a three-dimensional shape with six square or rectangular sides [syn: block, cube]
4: a number or quantity of related things dealt with as a unit; "he reserved a large block of seats"; "he held a large block of the company's stock"
5: housing in a large building that is divided into separate units; "there is a block of classrooms in the west wing"
6: (computer science) a sector or group of sectors that function as the smallest data unit permitted; "since blocks are often defined as a single sector, the terms `block' and `sector' are sometimes used interchangeably"
7: an inability to remember or think of something you normally can do; often caused by emotional tension; "I knew his name perfectly well but I had a temporary block" [syn: block, mental block]
8: 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 [syn: pulley, pulley-block, pulley block, block]
9: a metal casting containing the cylinders and cooling ducts of an engine; "the engine had to be replaced because the block was cracked" [syn: engine block, cylinder block, block]
10: an obstruction in a pipe or tube; "we had to call a plumber to clear out the blockage in the drainpipe" [syn: blockage, block, closure, occlusion, stop, stoppage]
11: a platform from which an auctioneer sells; "they put their paintings on the block" [syn: auction block, block]
12: the act of obstructing or deflecting someone's movements [syn: blocking, block] v
1: render unsuitable for passage; "block the way"; "barricade the streets"; "stop the busy road" [syn: barricade, block, blockade, stop, block off, block up, bar]
2: hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of; "His brother blocked him at every turn" [syn: obstruct, blockade, block, hinder, stymie, stymy, embarrass]
3: stop from happening or developing; "Block his election"; "Halt the process" [syn: stop, halt, block, kibosh]
4: interfere with or prevent the reception of signals; "Jam the Voice of America"; "block the signals emitted by this station" [syn: jam, block]
5: run on a block system; "block trains"
6: interrupt the normal function of by means of anesthesia; "block a nerve"; "block a muscle"
7: shut out from view or get in the way so as to hide from sight; "The thick curtain blocked the action on the stage"; "The trees obstruct my view of the mountains" [syn: obstruct, block]
8: stamp or emboss a title or design on a book with a block; "block the book cover"
9: obstruct; "My nose is all stuffed"; "Her arteries are blocked" [syn: stuff, lug, choke up, block] [ant: loosen up, unstuff]
10: block passage through; "obstruct the path" [syn: obstruct, obturate, impede, occlude, jam, block, close up] [ant: disengage, free]
11: support, secure, or raise with a block; "block a plate for printing"; "block the wheels of a car"
12: impede the movement of (an opponent or a ball); "block an attack" [syn: parry, block, deflect]
13: be unable to remember; "I'm drawing a blank"; "You are blocking the name of your first wife!" [syn: forget, block, blank out, draw a blank] [ant: call back, call up, recall, recollect, remember, retrieve, think]
14: shape by using a block; "Block a hat"; "block a garment"
15: shape into a block or blocks; "block the graphs so one can see the results clearly"
16: prohibit the conversion or use of (assets); "Blocked funds"; "Freeze the assets of this hostile government" [syn: freeze, block, immobilize, immobilise] [ant: free, release, unblock, unfreeze]

Merriam Webster's

biographical name Herbert Lawrence 1909-2001 Herblock American editorial cartoonist

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English blok, from Middle French & Middle Dutch; Middle French bloc, from Middle Dutch blok; akin to Old High German bloh block Date: 14th century 1. a compact usually solid piece of substantial material especially when worked or altered to serve a particular purpose: as a. the piece of wood on which the neck of a person condemned to be beheaded is laid for execution b. a mold or form on which articles are shaped or displayed c. a hollow rectangular building unit usually of artificial material d. a lightweight usually cubical and solid wooden or plastic building toy that is usually provided in sets e. the casting that contains the cylinders of an internal combustion engine f. starting block 2. a. obstacle b. an obstruction of an opponent's play in sports; especially a halting or impeding of the progress or movement of an opponent in football by use of the body c. (1) interruption of normal physiological function (as of a tissue or organ); especially heart block (2) local anesthesia (as by injection) produced by interruption of the flow of impulses along a nerve d. interruption or cessation especially of train of thought by competing thoughts or psychological suppression — compare writer's block 3. slang head 1 <threatened to knock his block off> 4. a wooden or metal case enclosing one or more pulleys and having a hook, eye, or strap by which it may be attached 5. a piece of material (as wood or linoleum) having on its surface a hand-cut design from which impressions are to be printed 6. a. (1) a usually rectangular space (as in a city) enclosed by streets and occupied by or intended for buildings (2) the distance along one of the sides of such a block b. (1) a large building divided into separate functional units (2) a line of row houses (3) a distinctive part of a building or integrated group of buildings 7. a platform from which property is sold at auction 8. a. a quantity, number, or section of things dealt with as a unit b. bloc 2 II. verb Date: 1580 transitive verb 1. a. to make unsuitable for passage or progress by obstruction b. archaic blockade c. to hinder the passage, progress, or accomplishment of by or as if by interposing an obstruction d. to shut off from view <forest canopy blocking the sun> e. to interfere usually legitimately with (as an opponent) in various games or sports f. to prevent normal functioning or action of g. to restrict the exchange of (as currency or checks) 2. to mark or indicate the outline or chief lines of <block out a design> <block in a sketched figure> 3. to shape on, with, or as if with a block <block a hat> 4. to secure, support, or provide with a block 5. to work out or chart the movements of (as stage performers) — often used with out 6. to make (two or more lines of writing or type) flush at the left or at both left and right intransitive verb to block an opponent in sports Synonyms: see hinder • blocker noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n., v., & adj. --n. 1 a solid hewn or unhewn piece of hard material, esp. of rock, stone, or wood (block of ice). 2 a flat-topped block used as a base for chopping, beheading, standing something on, hammering on, or for mounting a horse from. 3 a a large building, esp. when subdivided (block of flats). b a compact mass of buildings bounded by (usu. four) streets. 4 an obstruction; anything preventing progress or normal working (a block in the pipe). 5 a chock for stopping the motion of a wheel etc. 6 a pulley or system of pulleys mounted in a case. 7 (in pl.) any of a set of solid cubes etc., used as a child's toy. 8 Printing a piece of wood or metal engraved for printing on paper or fabric. 9 a head-shaped mould used for shaping hats or wigs. 10 sl. the head (knock his block off). 11 US a the area between streets in a town or suburb. b the length of such an area, esp. as a measure of distance (lives three blocks away). 12 a stolid, unimaginative, or hard-hearted person. 13 a large quantity or allocation of things treated as a unit, esp. shares, seats in a theatre, etc. 14 a set of sheets of paper used for writing, or esp. drawing, glued along one edge. 15 Cricket a spot on which a batsman blocks the ball before the wicket, and rests the bat before playing. 16 Athletics = starting-block. 17 Amer. Football a blocking action. 18 Austral. a a tract of land offered to an individual settler by a government. b a large area of land. --v.tr. 1 a (often foll. by up) obstruct (a passage etc.) (the road was blocked; you are blocking my view). b put obstacles in the way of (progress etc.). 2 restrict the use or conversion of (currency or any other asset). 3 use a block for making (a hat, wig, etc.). 4 emboss or impress a design on (a book cover). 5 Cricket stop (a ball) with a bat defensively. 6 Amer. Football intercept (an opponent) with one's body. --attrib.adj. treating (many similar things) as one unit (block booking). Phrases and idioms: block and tackle a system of pulleys and ropes, esp. for lifting. block capitals (or letters) letters printed without serifs, or written with each letter separate and in capitals. block diagram a diagram showing the general arrangement of parts of an apparatus. block in 1 sketch roughly; plan. 2 confine. block mountain Geol. a mountain formed by natural faults. block out 1 a shut out (light, noise, etc.). b exclude from memory, as being too painful. 2 sketch roughly; plan. block-ship Naut. a ship used to block a channel. block system a system by which no railway train may enter a section that is not clear. block tin refined tin cast in ingots. block up 1 confine; shut (a person etc.) in. 2 infill (a window, doorway, etc.) with bricks etc. block vote a vote proportional in power to the number of people a delegate represents. mental (or psychological) block a particular mental inability due to subconscious emotional factors. on the block US being auctioned. put the blocks on prevent from proceeding. Derivatives: blocker n. Etymology: ME f. OF bloc, bloquer f. MDu. blok, of unkn. orig.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Block Block, n. 1. In Australia, one of the large lots into which public land, when opened to settlers, is divided by the government surveyors. 2. (Cricket) (a) The position of a player or bat when guarding the wicket. (b) A block hole. (c) The popping crease. [R.] Back blocks, Australian pastoral country which is remote from the seacoast or from a river.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Block Block, n. [OE. blok; cf. F. bloc (fr. OHG.), D. & Dan. blok, Sw. & G. block, OHG. bloch. There is also an OHG. bloch, biloh; bi by + the same root as that of E. lock. Cf. Block, v. t., Blockade, and see Lock.] 1. A piece of wood more or less bulky; a solid mass of wood, stone, etc., usually with one or more plane, or approximately plane, faces; as, a block on which a butcher chops his meat; a block by which to mount a horse; children's playing blocks, etc. Now all our neighbors' chimneys smoke, And Christmas blocks are burning. --Wither. All her labor was but as a block Left in the quarry. --Tennyson. 2. The solid piece of wood on which condemned persons lay their necks when they are beheaded. Noble heads which have been brought to the block. --E. Everett. 3. The wooden mold on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped. Hence: The pattern or shape of a hat. He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat; it ever changes with the next block. --Shak. 4. A large or long building divided into separate houses or shops, or a number of houses or shops built in contact with each other so as to form one building; a row of houses or shops. 5. A square, or portion of a city inclosed by streets, whether occupied by buildings or not. The new city was laid out in rectangular blocks, each block containing thirty building lots. Such an average block, comprising 282 houses and covering nine acres of ground, exists in Oxford Street. --Lond. Quart. Rev. 6. A grooved pulley or sheave incased in a frame or shell which is provided with a hook, eye, or strap, by which it may be attached to an object. It is used to change the direction of motion, as in raising a heavy object that can not be conveniently reached, and also, when two or more such sheaves are compounded, to change the rate of motion, or to exert increased force; -- used especially in the rigging of ships, and in tackles. 7. (Falconry) The perch on which a bird of prey is kept. 8. Any obstruction, or cause of obstruction; a stop; a hindrance; an obstacle; as, a block in the way. 9. A piece of box or other wood for engravers' work. 10. (Print.) A piece of hard wood (as mahogany or cherry) on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted to make it type high. 11. A blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt. [Obs.] What a block art thou ! --Shak. 12. A section of a railroad where the block system is used. See Block system, below. A block of shares (Stock Exchange), a large number of shares in a stock company, sold in a lump. --Bartlett. Block printing. (a) A mode of printing (common in China and Japan) from engraved boards by means of a sheet of paper laid on the linked surface and rubbed with a brush. --S. W. Williams. (b) A method of printing cotton cloth and paper hangings with colors, by pressing them upon an engraved surface coated with coloring matter. Block system on railways, a system by which the track is divided into sections of three or four miles, and trains are so run by the guidance of electric signals that no train enters a section or block before the preceding train has left it.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Block Block, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blocked; p. pr. & vb. n. Blocking.] [Cf. F. bloquer, fr. bloc block. See Block, n.] 1. To obstruct so as to prevent passage or progress; to prevent passage from, through, or into, by obstructing the way; -- used both of persons and things; -- often followed by up; as, to block up a road or harbor. With moles . . . would block the port. --Rowe. A city . . . besieged and blocked about. --Milton. 2. To secure or support by means of blocks; to secure, as two boards at their angles of intersection, by pieces of wood glued to each. 3. To shape on, or stamp with, a block; as, to block a hat. To block out, to begin to reduce to shape; to mark out roughly; to lay out; as, to block out a plan.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(blocks, blocking, blocked) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. A block of flats or offices is a large building containing them. ...blocks of council flats. ...a white-painted apartment block. N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n 2. A block in a town is an area of land with streets on all its sides. She walked four blocks down High Street... He walked around the block three times. N-COUNT 3. A block of a substance is a large rectangular piece of it. ...a block of ice. N-COUNT: usu N of n 4. To block a road, channel, or pipe means to put an object across it or in it so that nothing can pass through it or along it. Some students today blocked a highway that cuts through the center of the city... He can clear blocked drains. VERB: V n, V-ed 5. If something blocks your view, it prevents you from seeing something because it is between you and that thing. ...a row of spruce trees that blocked his view of the long north slope of the mountain. = obstruct VERB: V n 6. If you block someone's way, you prevent them from going somewhere or entering a place by standing in front of them. I started to move round him, but he blocked my way... VERB: V n 7. If you block something that is being arranged, you prevent it from being done. For years the country has tried to block imports of various cheap foreign products... VERB: V n 8. A block of something such as tickets or shares is a large quantity of them, especially when they are all sold at the same time and are in a particular sequence or order. Those booking a block of seats get them at reduced rates. N-COUNT: usu N of n 9. If you have a mental block or a block, you are temporarily unable to do something that you can normally do which involves using, thinking about, or remembering something. N-COUNT: usu supp N 10. see also breeze-block, building block, roadblock, starting block, stumbling block, tower block 11. a chip off the old block: see chip

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Obstruct, close, blockade, stop, arrest, shut up, stop up, block up, fill up. 2. Mould, shape, form (on a block). 3. Make steady or firm, stiffen, brace. II. n. 1. Thick and heavy piece (as of wood or stone), mass. 2. Mould (on which objects are made). 3. Simpleton, fool, blockhead. See dunce. 4. Mass of houses (in a square or a continuous row), mass of buildings. 5. City block, square. 6. (Naut.) Pulley, tackle. 7. Executioner's block (in fig. sense), scaffold, execution. 8. Stoppage, obstruction, jam, pack.

Moby Thesaurus

Boeotian, Dutch auction, afterthought, agate, agnosia, apply to, aquatint, arm, arrest, auction, auction block, auction sale, autolithograph, ax, balk, ball, bar, barricade, barrier, baseball bat, bat, batch, battery, battledore, bauble, beat off, bind, blank wall, blanket, blind alley, blind gut, block out, block print, block up, blockade, blockage, blocking, blocks, blot out, board lot, body, bolt, bottleneck, brake, brick, bring to, bring up short, bulk, bung, bung up, bureaucratic delay, cake, canopy, catch, caulk, cecum, censorship, check, checkerboard, checkmate, chessboard, chink, chock, choke, choke off, choke up, choking, choking off, chromolithograph, chunk, city block, cloak, clod, clog, clog up, clos, close, close off, close tight, close up, clothe, cloud, club, clump, cluster, cockhorse, color print, concrete, concretion, confine, congest, congestion, conglomerate, conglomeration, constipate, constipation, constrict, conversion, cope, copperplate, copperplate print, cordon, cork, costiveness, counter, cover, cover up, cowl, crayon engraving, cricket bat, croft, cross, crowd, cube, cue, cul-de-sac, curtain, cut, cut off, cut short, dam, dam up, dead end, deadlock, death chair, death chamber, debar, defense mechanism, delay, delayage, delayed reaction, delirium, delusion, delusion of persecution, deny, design, detain, detention, determent, deterrent, difficulty, dimwit, disorientation, dog, doll, doll carriage, dolt, donkey, dope, double take, drag, dragging, drawback, drive back, drop, dullard, dumb cluck, dumbbell, dummy, dummy share, dunce, eclipse, electric chair, eliminate, ell, embolism, embolus, enclave, engravement, engraving, erase, etching, even lot, exclude, extension, fend, fend off, field, fill, fill up, film, flight of ideas, forty, foul, fractional lot, freeze, full lot, gallows, gallows-tree, gas chamber, gewgaw, gibbet, gimcrack, gob, golf club, gorge, gowk, graphotype, guillotine, hallucination, hallucinosis, halt, halter, hamper, hang-up, hazard, hemp, hempen collar, hinder, hindrance, hitch, hobbyhorse, hold at bay, hold back, hold off, hold up, holding, holdings, holdup, hood, hot seat, hunk, hurdle, impasse, impede, impediment, impress, impression, imprint, infarct, infarction, inhibition, interim, jack-in-the-box, jacks, jackstones, jackstraws, jam, jobbernowl, joker, keep at bay, keep back, keep off, kickshaw, kit, knickknack, knot, kraal, lackwit, lag, lagging, lamebrain, lay on, lay out, lay over, lethal chamber, lightweight, linoleum-block print, lithograph, loaf, lock, logjam, looby, loon, lot, lump, maiden, make late, mantle, marble, marionette, mask, mass, mental block, mental confusion, mezzotint, mig, moratorium, muffle, negative, niais, nihilism, nihilistic delusion, nincompoop, ninny, ninnyhammer, nitwit, noddy, node, noose, nugget, obduce, objection, obscure, obstacle, obstipate, obstipation, obstruct, obstruction, obstructive, occlude, occult, odd lot, one small difficulty, outcry, outfit, outline, overlay, overspread, pack, pale, paper doll, paperasserie, paralogia, parcel of land, parry, pat, patch, pause, pick-up sticks, piece, pinwheel, plan, plat, plaything, plot, plot of ground, plug, plug up, preference share, prevent, print, psychological block, pull up, puppet, push back, put, put back, put on, put paid to, quad, quadrangle, quantity, racket, rag doll, real estate, rebuff, red tape, red-tapeism, red-tapery, repel, repression, reprieve, repulse, resistance, respite, restraint, retard, retardance, retardation, roadblock, rocking horse, rope, rough out, round lot, rub, rubber-block print, scaffold, screen, scum, sealing off, section, series, set, share, shield, shut off, shut out, shut tight, sketch, slab, slacken, slow down, slow-up, slowdown, slowness, snag, solid, solid body, spile, sport, spread over, square, squeeze, squeeze shut, stake, stalemate, stall, stanch, stave off, stay, stay of execution, steelie, stem, stem the tide, stench, stifle, stockholding, stockholdings, stop, stop cold, stop dead, stop short, stop up, stoppage, stopper, stopple, strangle, strangulate, strangulation, stuff, stuff up, stumbling block, stumbling stone, stump, stupid, stymie, sublimation, suffocate, suit, suite, superimpose, superpose, suppression, suspension, symbolization, taw, teetotum, the chair, thickwit, tie-up, time lag, top, toy, toy soldier, tract, tree, trinket, turn aside, veil, vendue, vignette, wad, wait, wall, ward off, whim-wham, wing, witling, wood engraving, woodblock, woodcut, woodprint, xylograph