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block

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The definition of a block is a square piece of material that usually has flat surfaces that may be used for building things, as a child's toy, or as a work surface.

(noun)

An example of a block is a large piece of wood that is square in shape.
An example of a block is a child's four-sided toy that he can stack up or use to build things.
An example of a block is a piece of wood or work surface on which you chop up food.

A block is defined as an area of four streets that goes in a square, or a single street within an area of four streets, or the length of one of those streets.

(noun)

An example of a block is the four streets that go in a square around your house.
An example of a block is the street your house is located on.
An example of a block is the distance you need to walk to get from your street to the next street over.

To block means to prevent something from happening or to make forward movement impossible.

(verb)

An example of block is when you cut the funding for a program, preventing it from going forward.
An example of block is when you stand in a person's way so he cannot move forward.

See block in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

any large, solid piece of wood, stone, or metal, often with flat surfaces
a blocklike stand or platform on which hammering, chopping, etc. is done: a butcher's block, headsman's block
☆ an auctioneer's platform
1. a mold upon which things are shaped, as hats
2. the shape of a hat
anything that stops movement or progress; obstruction, obstacle, or hindrance
a pulley or system of pulleys in a frame, with a hook, loop, etc. for attachment
any solid piece of material used to strengthen or support
1. an oblong building unit of concrete, larger than a brick and usually not solid
  in full concrete block
2. a similar unit of glass or other material
3. such units collectively
a toy brick, typically cubic, of wood or plastic
☆ Now Brit. a large building with many units in it, or a group of buildings regarded as a unit
☆
1. an area bounded by streets or buildings on four sides; city square
2. the distance along one side of such an area
any number of persons or things regarded as a unit: a block of tickets
the metal casting that houses the cylinders of an internal-combustion engine; engine block
Slang a person's head
Comput. a unit of memory, consisting of one or more contiguous words, bytes, or records
Med.
1. an interruption of normal function in a part of the body: heart block, kidney block
2. an interruption of the passage of impulses through a nerve by means of pressure or anesthetics
Printing a piece of wood, linoleum, etc. engraved with a design or picture
Psychiatry a sudden interruption in speech or thought processes, resulting from deep emotional conflict, repression, etc.
Railroading a length of track governed by signals
☆ Sports an interruption, restraining, or thwarting of an opponent's play or movement
Philately a set of four or more unseparated stamps forming a rectangle
Track & Field starting blocks

Origin: ME blokke < OFr bloc & MDu block < IE *bhlugo- < base *bhel-, a thick plank, beam > balk, Gr phalanx, L fulcrum

transitive verb

to impede the passage or progress of; obstruct
to blockade
to create difficulties for; stand in the way of; hinder
1. to shape or mold on or as on a block
2. to stamp with a block
to form into blocks
to strengthen or support with blocks
to restrict or prohibit the use, conversion, or flow of (currency, assets, etc.)
to sketch or outline with little or no detail: often with out
Games, Sports to hinder (an opponent or his play), whether legally or as a foul
Med. to prevent the transmission of impulses in (a nerve), esp. by anesthetizing
Theater to plan or direct (the movements on stage of actors)

Origin: Fr bloquer < the n.

intransitive verb

to have a mental block (on)
☆ Sports to block an opponent

adjective

made or formed in a block or blocks: block coal
set out like or involving a city block
Stenography having no indentation in address, heading, or paragraphs

island in S R.I., at the entrance to Long Island Sound

Origin: after Adriaen Block, 17th-c. Du navigator who explored it

See block in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

a. A solid piece of a hard substance, such as wood, having one or more flat sides.
b. Such a piece used as a construction member or as a support.
c. Such a piece upon which chopping or cutting is done: a butcher's block.
d. Such a piece upon which persons are beheaded.
e. One of a set of small wooden or plastic pieces, such as a cube, bar, or cylinder, used as a building toy.
f. Printing A large amount of text.
g. Sports A starting block.
A stand from which articles are displayed and sold at an auction: Many priceless antiques went on the block.
A mold or form on which an item is shaped or displayed: a hat block.
A substance, such as wood or stone, that has been prepared for engraving.
a. A pulley or a system of pulleys set in a casing.
b. An engine block.
A bloc.
A set of like items, such as shares of stock, sold or handled as a unit.
A group of four or more unseparated postage stamps forming a rectangle.
Canadian A group of townships in an unsurveyed area.
a. A usually rectangular section of a city or town bounded on each side by consecutive streets.
b. A segment of a street bounded by consecutive cross streets and including its buildings and inhabitants.
A large building divided into separate units, such as apartments.
A length of railroad track controlled by signals.
The act of obstructing.
Something that obstructs; an obstacle.
a. Sports An act of bodily obstruction, as of a player or ball.
b. Football Legal interference with an opposing player to clear the path of the ball carrier.
Medicine Interruption or obstruction of a physiological function: nerve block.
Psychology A sudden cessation of speech or a thought process without an immediate observable cause, sometimes considered a consequence of repression. Also called mental block.
Slang The human head: threatened to knock my block off.
A blockhead.

verb blocked, block·ing, blocks

verb, transitive

To shape into a block or blocks.
To support, strengthen, or retain in place by means of a block.
To shape, mold, or form with or on a block: block a hat.
a. To stop or impede the passage of or movement through; obstruct: block traffic.
b. To shut out from view: a curtain blocking the stage.
c. To stop the passage of (a motion or bill) in a legislative assembly.
To indicate broadly without great detail; sketch. Often used with out: block out a plan of action; block out stage movements.
Sports To impede the movement of (an opponent or the ball) by physical interference.
Medicine To interrupt or obstruct the proper functioning of (a physiological process), especially by the use of drugs.
Psychology To fail to remember.
To run (trains) on a block system.

verb, intransitive

Sports To obstruct the movement of an opponent.
To suffer a mental block. Often used with on: I blocked on his name.

Phrasal Verb: block out To cover over so as to be illegible: block out sensitive information from a document before releasing it. To repress (a traumatic event, for example) from conscious memory.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English blok

Origin: , from Old French bloc

Origin: , from Middle Dutch

Related Forms:

blockˈer noun

(blŏk), Herbert Lawrence Known as Her·block (hûrˈblŏk) 1909-2001.

American editorial cartoonist whose witty works have appeared in the Washington Post and more than 200 other papers nationwide. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1942 and in 1954.

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