block

See also: Block

EnglishEdit

 
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PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

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.

NounEdit

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.
      • 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.
    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.
    6. 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.'
      • 1803, Mary Tighe, Selena:
        "Aye," said the farmer putting another block on the fire as he spoke […]
      • 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.
    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.
  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 (see 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.
  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.
    • 1832, Records and Briefs of the United States Supreme Court, page 423:
      The Witness: Well, I have one that is 8/10 of a mile away; I have one that is just about another 8/10 of a mile away; I have one that is three blocks away; I have one that is four blocks away; I have one that is eight blocks away, and I have one that is about 14 blocks away.
      • 2009, Hape Kerkeling, I'm Off Then‎[1], page 241:
        This uphill trail is like a battlefield. Anne offers to carry the older woman's backpack. […] I couldn't walk three blocks with the Danish woman's bulging backpack.
    • 2017, Raymond E. Murphy, The Central Business District, page 37:
      A county courthouse and a municipal building, located approximately a city block north of the district, were automatically excluded because they were separated from the main CBD by several blocks that did not reach either of the required index values.
  5. A large, roughly cuboid building.
    a block of flats, an office block, a tower block
    1. A cellblock.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess‎[2]:
      He turned back to the scene before him and the enormous new block of council dwellings. The design was some way after Corbusier but the block was built up on plinths and resembled an Atlantic liner swimming diagonally across the site.
  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).
      • 2011 February 12, Oliver Brett, “Sunderland 1–2 Tottenham”, in BBC‎[3]:
        The match proved an unedifying spectacle until Spurs won a corner following their first move of real quality, John Mensah making an important block with Jermain Defoe poised to strike.
    3. (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.
    4. (cricket) The position of a player or bat when guarding the wicket.
    5. (cricket) A blockhole.
    6. (cricket) The popping crease.
    7. (volleyball) A defensive play by one or more players meant to deflect a spiked ball back to the hitter’s court.
      Synonyms: stuff, roof, wall
  7. (slang) The human head.
    I'll knock your block off!
  8. (Britain) Solitary confinement.
  9. (obsolete) A blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt.
SynonymsEdit
Related termsEdit
Derived termsEdit
Terms derived from block (noun)
cuboid
group of buildings
computing
distance
cutting base
prevent passage
rigging
human head
volleyball
miscellaneous
DescendantsEdit
Related terms →
  • → Dutch: block
  • → German: Block
  • → Irish: bloc
  • → Manx: block
  • → Maori: poraka
  • → Norwegian: blokk
  • → Polish: blok
  • → Russian: блок (blok)
  • → Spanish: block
  • → Vietnamese: lốc
TranslationsEdit
simplified head model — see wig block
cellblock — see cellblock
cricket: blockhole — see blockhole
cricket: popping crease — see popping crease
solitary confinement — see solitary confinement
stupid fellow — see blockhead
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

VerbEdit

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.
    The pipe is blocked.
    You're blocking the road – I can't get through!
    • 2020 January 2, Philip Haigh, “Is there relief to congestion along Castlefield Corridor?”, in Rail, page 23:
      However, at Manchester the junctions and signals are so close that a train running more slowly over several junctions simply blocks those junctions for longer, preventing other trains moving.
  2. (transitive) To prevent (something or someone) from passing.
    A broken-down car is blocking the traffic.
  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 or opponent's play).
    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 for (a section of a play).
    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 (someone undesirable).
    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.
    When drawing a scene, first block the main features, and then fill in the detail.
  12. (transitive, slang, obsolete) To knock (a person's hat) down over their eyes.
    Synonym: bonnet
Related termsEdit
terms derived from block (verb)
TranslationsEdit

Etymology 2Edit

NounEdit

block

  1. Misspelling of bloc.

ManxEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from English block.

NounEdit

block m (genitive singular bluick)

  1. block, log, cake (of soap)

Derived termsEdit

MutationEdit

Manx mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
block vlock mlock
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

SpanishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From English block. Doublet of bloc and bloque.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

block m (plural blocks)

  1. (Guatemala) cement block
    Synonym: bloque de cemento

SwedishEdit

EtymologyEdit

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

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

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)

DeclensionEdit

Declension of block 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative block blocket block blocken
Genitive blocks blockets blocks blockens

Related termsEdit

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