block

English Online Dictionary. What means block‎? What does block mean?

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /blɒk/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /blɑk/
• Rhymes: -ɒk
• Homophone: bloc

Etymology 1

From Middle English blok (“log, stump, solid piece”), from Old French bloc (“log, block”), from Middle Dutch blok (“treetrunk”), from Old Dutch *blok (“log”), from Proto-West Germanic *blokk, from Proto-Germanic *blukką (“beam, log”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ- (“thick plank, beam, pile, prop”). Cognate with Old Frisian blok, Old Saxon blok, Old High German bloh, bloc (“block”), Old English bolca (“gangway of a ship, plank”), Old Norse bǫlkr (“divider, partition”). More at balk. See also bloc, bulk.

Noun

block (plural blocks)

1. A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance.

   a block of ice, a block of stone

   1. A chopping block: a cuboid base for cutting or beheading.

      Anne Boleyn placed her head on the block and awaited her execution.
   2. A wig block: a simplified head model upon which wigs are worn.
   3. A mould on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped.
   4. (printing, dated) A piece of hard wood on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted.
   5. 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.

      Synonym: pulley block

   6. A section of split logs used as fuel.
   7. A set of sheets (of paper) joined together at one end, forming a cuboid shape.

      a block of 100 tickets

   8. (falconry) The perch on which a bird of prey is kept.
   9. (cellular automata) In Conway's Game of Life, a still life consisting of four living cells arranged in a two-by-two square.
2. A physical area or extent of something, often rectangular or approximately rectangular.

   a block of text, a block of colour, a block of land

   1. (philately) A joined group of four (or in some cases nine) postage stamps, forming a roughly square shape.
   2. (viticulture) A discrete group of vines in a vineyard, often distinguished from others by variety, clone, canopy training method, irrigation infrastructure, or some combination thereof.
3. A logical extent or region; a grouping or apportionment of like things treated together as a unit.

   a block of data, a block of seven days, a block reservation

   1. (computing) A logical data storage unit containing one or more physical sectors.

      Coordinate term: cluster
   2. (programming) A region of code in a program that acts as a single unit, such as a function or loop.
   3. (cryptography) A fixed-length group of bits making up part of a message.
   4. (chemistry) A portion of a macromolecule, comprising many units, that has at least one feature not present in adjacent portions.
   5. (rail transport) A section of a railroad where the block system is used.
   6. (computing) 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).

4. A contiguous group of urban lots of property, typically several acres in extent, not crossed by public streets.

   I'm going for a walk around the block.

   1. The distance from one street to another in a city or suburb that is built (approximately) to a grid pattern.

      The place you are looking for is two long blocks east and one short block north.
5. A roughly cuboid building.

   a block of flats, a tower block, an office block, a toilet block, a shower block

   1. A cellblock.
6. 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.

   1. Interference or obstruction of cognitive processes.

      a mental block

      writer's block

   2. (sports) An action to interfere with the movement of an opposing player or of the object of play (ball, puck).

      Synonyms: stuff, roof, wall

      1. (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.
      2. (cricket) The position of a player or bat when guarding the wicket.
      3. (cricket) A blockhole.
      4. (cricket) The popping crease.
      5. (volleyball) A defensive play by one or more players meant to deflect a spiked ball back to the hitter’s court.
   3. 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.

7. (slang) The human head.

   I'll knock your block off!

8. (UK) Solitary confinement.
9. (obsolete) A blockhead; a stupid person; a dolt.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:head
• city block

Derived terms

Related terms

• bloc

Descendants

Translations

Verb

block (third-person singular simple present blocks, present participle blocking, simple past and past participle blocked)

1. (transitive) To fill or obstruct (something) so that it is not possible to pass.
2. (transitive) To prevent (something or someone) from passing.

3. (transitive) To prevent (something from happening or someone from doing something).
4. (transitive, sports) To impede (an opponent or opponent's play).

5. (transitive, theater) To specify the positions and movements of the actors for (a section of a play or film).

6. (transitive, cricket) To hit with a block.
7. (intransitive, cricket) To play a block shot.
8. (transitive) To bar (a person or bot, etc.) from connecting via telephone, instant messaging, etc., or from accessing an online account or service, or similar.
9. (transitive) To bar (a message or communication), or bar connection with (an online account or service, a designated telephone number, IP address, etc.).

10. (programming, intransitive) To wait for some condition to become true.
11. (transitive) To stretch or mould (a knitted item, a hat, etc.) into the desired shape.

12. (transitive) To shape or sketch out roughly.

13. (intransitive) To experience mental block or creative block.
14. (transitive, slang, obsolete) To knock the hat of (a person) down over their eyes.

    Synonym: bonnet

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

block

1. Misspelling of bloc.

Chinese

Alternative forms

• 卜 (bok¹)

Etymology

From English block. Doublet of 薄lock.

Pronunciation

Verb

block (Hong Kong Cantonese)

1. (social media) to block (someone)

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /blɔk/
• Homophones: Block, Blog, blogg

Verb

block

1. singular imperative of blocken

Manx

Etymology

Borrowed from English block.

Noun

block m (genitive singular bluick)

1. block, log, cake (of soap)

Derived terms

• block-lettyr

Mutation

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English block. Doublet of bloco.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -ɔki, (Portugal) -ɔkɨ
• Homophone: bloque (Brazil)

Noun

block m (plural blocks)

1. (social media) block (temporary or permanent ban that prevents access to an online account or service)

   Synonym: bloqueio

Swedish

Etymology

From Middle Low German block, from Old Saxon blok, from Proto-West Germanic *blokk, from Proto-Germanic *blukką.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈblɔk/

Noun

block n

1. a block, a boulder, a cuboid (of ice, wood, rock)
2. a block, a pad, a notebook
3. a block, a pulley
4. a block, a piece of data storage
5. a bloc (of voters or countries)

Declension

Derived terms

• anteckningsblock
• blädderblock
• blockbaserad
• blockstorlek
• diskblock
• flyttblock
• isblock
• skrivblock
• stenblock

Related terms

• blockad
• blockera

References

• block in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• block in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• block in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)