English Explanatory Dictionary

block

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance.
  2. A chopping block: a cuboid base for cutting or beheading.
  3. A wig block: a simplified head model upon which wigs are worn.
  4. A mould on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped.
  5. A piece of hard wood on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted.
  6. 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.
  7. A section of split logs used as fuel.
  8. A set of sheets (of paper) joined together at one end, forming a cuboid shape.
  9. The perch on which a bird of prey is kept.
  10. In Conway's Game of Life, a still life consisting of four living cells arranged in a two-by-two square.
  11. A physical area or extent of something, often rectangular or approximately rectangular.
  12. A joined group of four (or in some cases nine) postage stamps, forming a roughly square shape.
verb
  1. To fill or obstruct (something) so that it is not possible to pass.
  2. To prevent (something or someone) from passing.
  3. To prevent (something from happening or someone from doing something).
  4. To impede (an opponent or opponent’s play).
  5. To specify the positions and movements of the actors for (a section of a play or film).
  6. To hit with a block.
  7. To play a block shot.
  8. To bar (impose a ban on a person or bot, etc.) from connecting via telephone, instant messaging, etc., or from accessing an online account or service, or similar.
  9. To bar (a message or communication), or bar connection with (an online account or service, a designated telephone number, IP address, etc.).
  10. To wait for some condition to become true.
  11. To shape, stretch, or mould knitted items, hats, books (and book covers), shoes, etc.
  12. To shape or sketch out roughly.
noun
  1. Misspelling of bloc.
name
  1. A surname.
  2. A surname from the Germanic languages
  3. A surname from German
  4. A surname from Dutch
  5. An English surname
  6. A Jewish surname
  7. An unincorporated community in Champaign County, Illinois, United States.
  8. An unincorporated community in Miami County, Kansas, United States.
  9. An unincorporated community in Campbell County, Tennessee, United States.

Pronunciation

/blɒk/ /blɑk/ en-us-block.ogg en-au-block.ogg

Word forms

block blocks blocke blocking blocked

Etymology

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.

Synonyms

pulley block city block barrier blockage obstruction stuff roof wall nuclear block bean beaner belfry block bonce brainbox brain bucket dome head loaf lolly napper noodle noddle noggin nut sconce skull stop bonnet

Related words

bloc

Derived words

cuboid block capitals block coefficient building block cinder block clinker block group of buildings apartment block around the block blockbuster block of flats block party office block computing block dump boot block bootblock distance city block cutting base chopping block block vote preventing passage breeze block breeze-block mental block writer’s block the block roadblock stage blocking stopblock rigging block and tackle two-blocked human head knock someone's block off hat block wig block volleyball block assist blocking error solo block miscellaneous block-book blockhead block cellular automaton block instrument block post block section block system block train brake block d-block do one's block f-block foreblock g-block nonblock p-block pulley block

Translations

Arabic: طَابُوقَة Belarusian: блок Belarusian: кварта́л Bulgarian: блок Bulgarian: квартал Bulgarian: каре Bulgarian: пречка Bulgarian: задръстване Bulgarian: блокада Burmese: တုံး Catalan: cub Catalan: bloc Catalan: illa Catalan: bloqueig Chinese Mandarin: 塊體 /块体 Chinese Mandarin: 街區 /街区 Chinese Mandarin: 障礙物 /障碍物 Czech: blok Dutch: blok Dutch: verstopping Esperanto: bloko Finnish: kimpale Finnish: lohkare Finnish: järkäle Finnish: pölkky Finnish: lohko Finnish: kortteli Finnish: este Finnish: tukos Finnish: sulku Finnish: saarto Finnish: blokkaus Finnish: estäminen French: bloc French: pâté de maisons French: blocage French: obstruction Galician: bloque German: Block German: Klotz German: Häuserblock German: Verstopfung Hebrew: קֻבִּיָּה Hebrew: מחסום Hungarian: tömb Hungarian: kocka Hungarian: építőkocka Hungarian: sarok Hungarian: akadály Hungarian: torlasz Hungarian: dugulás Hungarian: elzáródás Hungarian: leszerelés Icelandic: kubbur Indonesian: balok Indonesian: blok Italian: blocco Italian: cubo Italian: isolato Italian: ingorgo Japanese: 塊 Japanese: 街区 Korean: 블록 Korean: 구역 Korean: 가구 Malay: bongkah Norwegian: kloss Persian: بلوک Plautdietsch: Klotz Polish: blok Portuguese: bloco Portuguese: quadra Portuguese: quarteirão Portuguese: bloqueio Romanian: bloc Russian: блок Russian: кварта́л Russian: прегра́да Scottish Gaelic: ceap Scottish Gaelic: sgonn Serbo-Croatian: klada Serbo-Croatian: blok Serbo-Croatian: četvrt Serbo-Croatian: zapreka Serbo-Croatian: zaprjeka Serbo-Croatian: blokada Slovak: blok Slovak: prekážka Spanish: bloque Spanish: bloqueta Spanish: manzana Spanish: cuadra Swedish: block Swedish: kloss Swedish: kvarter Swedish: blockering Swedish: stopp Swedish: hinder Tagalog: bloke Thai: บล็อก Thai: ช่วงตึก Ottoman Turkish: كوتوك Ukrainian: блок Ukrainian: кварта́л Vietnamese: bờ lốc Kazakh: блок Armenian: թաղամաս Bulgarian: препречвам Bulgarian: препятствам Bulgarian: блокирам Catalan: bloquejar Catalan: blocar Chinese Cantonese: 阻住 Danish: spærre Danish: blokere Dutch: versperren Dutch: blokkeren Dutch: tegenhouden Dutch: verhinderen Finnish: sulkea Finnish: tukkia Finnish: estää Finnish: ehkäistä Finnish: salvata French: bloquer French: contrer Galician: bloquear Galician: impedir Galician: obstruír German: blockieren German: abblocken Greek: εμποδίζω Hawaiian: keʻa Hawaiian: hoʻokeʻa Hebrew: חסם Hindi: रोकना Hindi: प्रतिबंध करना Hungarian: blokkol Indonesian: menghalangi Indonesian: mencegah Irish: coisc Italian: bloccare Italian: ostruire Italian: impedire Japanese: 阻む Japanese: 遮る Japanese: 塞ぐ Japanese: 阻止する Khmer: បាំង Kyrgyz: тос
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