block (blocks plural & 3rd person present) (blocking present participle) (blocked past tense & past participle )
1 n-count A block of flats or offices is a large building containing them.
usu with supp, oft N of n
...blocks of council flats., ...a white-painted apartment block.
2 n-count 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.
3 n-count A blockof a substance is a large rectangular piece of it.
usu N of n
...a block of ice.
4 verb 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... V n
He can clear blocked drains. V-ed
5 verb If something blocks your view, it prevents you from seeing something because it is between you and that thing.
(=obstruct)
...a row of spruce trees that blocked his view of the long north slope of the mountain. V n
6 verb 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... V n
7 verb 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... V n
8 n-count A blockof 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.
usu N of n
Those booking a block of seats get them at reduced rates.
9 n-count 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.
usu supp N
10
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breeze-block
→
building block
→
roadblock
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starting block
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stumbling block
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tower block
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a chip off the old block
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chip block in phrasal verb If you are blocked in, someone has parked their car in such a way that you cannot drive yours away.
Our cars get blocked in and we can't leave for ages... get V-ed P
Oh, is that your car outside? I may have blocked you in. V n P, Also V P n (not pron) block off phrasal verb When you block off a door, window, or passage, you put something across it so that nothing can pass through it.
They had blocked off the fireplaces to stop draughts. V P n (not pron), Also V n P block out
1 phrasal verb If someone blocks out a thought, they try not to think about it.
She accuses me of having blocked out the past... V P n (not pron)
I had to block the thought out of my mind. V n P of n
2 phrasal verb Something that blocks out light prevents it from reaching a place. Thick chipboard across the window frames blocked out the daylight... V P n (not pron) Those clouds would have cast shadows that would have blocked some sunlight out. V n P
block capitals
Block capitals are simple capital letters that are not decorated in any way. n-plural usu in N
block letters
Block letters are the same as block capitals. n-plural usu in N
block vote (block votes plural )A block vote is a large number of votes that are all cast in the same way by one person on behalf of a group of people. n-count
breeze-block (breeze-blocks plural ), breeze block A breeze-block is a large, grey brick made from ashes and cement.
(BRIT) n-count
in AM, use cinder block
building block (building blocks plural )If you describe something as a building block of something, you mean it is one of the separate parts that combine to make that thing. n-count usu with supp
...molecules that are the building blocks of all life on earth.
chock-a-block
A place that is chock-a-block is very full of people, things, or vehicles.
INFORMAL adj v-link ADJ, oft ADJ with n
(=packed)
The small roads are chock-a-block with traffic.
cinder block (cinder blocks plural ), cinderblock A cinder block is a large grey brick made from coal cinders and cement which is used for building.
(AM) n-count oft N n
in BRIT, use breeze-block
starting block (starting blocks plural )Starting blocks are blocks which runners put their feet against to help them move quickly forward at the start of a race. n-count usu pl
stumbling block (stumbling blocks plural )A stumbling block is a problem which stops you from achieving something. n-count oft N to/in n
Perhaps the major stumbling block to reunification is the military presence in South Korea.
tower block (tower blocks plural )A tower block is a tall building divided into flats or offices.
(BRIT) n-count
...a 23-storey tower block.
in AM, use high-rise building, high-rise
