Block
[blɒk] or [blɑk]
Definition
(noun.) a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides); 'the pyramids were built with large stone blocks'.
(noun.) housing in a large building that is divided into separate units; 'there is a block of classrooms in the west wing'.
(noun.) an inability to remember or think of something you normally can do; often caused by emotional tension; 'I knew his name perfectly well but I had a temporary block'.
(noun.) a number or quantity of related things dealt with as a unit; 'he reserved a large block of seats'; 'he held a large block of the company's stock'.
(noun.) a rectangular area in a city surrounded by streets and usually containing several buildings; 'he lives in the next block'.
(noun.) (computer science) a sector or group of sectors that function as the smallest data unit permitted; 'since blocks are often defined as a single sector, the terms `block' and `sector' are sometimes used interchangeably'.
(noun.) a three-dimensional shape with six square or rectangular sides.
(verb.) shape into a block or blocks; 'block the graphs so one can see the results clearly'.
(verb.) shape by using a block; 'Block a hat'; 'block a garment'.
(verb.) support, secure, or raise with a block; 'block a plate for printing'; 'block the wheels of a car'.
(verb.) stamp or emboss a title or design on a book with a block; 'block the book cover'.
(verb.) interrupt the normal function of by means of anesthesia; 'block a nerve'; 'block a muscle'.
(verb.) run on a block system; 'block trains'.
Checker: Rudolph--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) A piece of wood more or less bulky; a solid mass of wood, stone, etc., usually with one or more plane, or approximately plane, faces; as, a block on which a butcher chops his meat; a block by which to mount a horse; children's playing blocks, etc.
(v. t.) The solid piece of wood on which condemned persons lay their necks when they are beheaded.
(v. t.) The wooden mold on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped.
(v. t.) The pattern or shape of a hat.
(v. t.) A large or long building divided into separate houses or shops, or a number of houses or shops built in contact with each other so as to form one building; a row of houses or shops.
(v. t.) A square, or portion of a city inclosed by streets, whether occupied by buildings or not.
(v. t.) A grooved pulley or sheave incased in a frame or shell which is provided with a hook, eye, or strap, by which it may be attached to an object. It is used to change the direction of motion, as in raising a heavy object that can not be conveniently reached, and also, when two or more such sheaves are compounded, to change the rate of motion, or to exert increased force; -- used especially in the rigging of ships, and in tackles.
(v. t.) The perch on which a bird of prey is kept.
(v. t.) Any obstruction, or cause of obstruction; a stop; a hindrance; an obstacle; as, a block in the way.
(v. t.) A piece of box or other wood for engravers' work.
(v. t.) A piece of hard wood (as mahogany or cherry) on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted to make it type high.
(v. t.) A blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt.
(v. t.) A section of a railroad where the block system is used. See Block system, below.
(n.) To obstruct so as to prevent passage or progress; to prevent passage from, through, or into, by obstructing the way; -- used both of persons and things; -- often followed by up; as, to block up a road or harbor.
(n.) To secure or support by means of blocks; to secure, as two boards at their angles of intersection, by pieces of wood glued to each.
(n.) To shape on, or stamp with, a block; as, to block a hat.
Checker: Michelle
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. Obstruct, close, BLOCKADE, shut up, stop up, block up.
n. [1]. Thick and heavy piece (as of wood or stone).[2]. Wooden mould (on which hats are made).[3]. Simpleton, fool, blockhead, DUNCE.[4]. [U. S.] Mass of houses (in a square or a continuous row).[5]. (Naut.) Pulley.
Typist: Weldon
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Stop, arrest, fill, obstruct
ANT:Free, liberate, open, pave
Edited by Katy
Definition
n. an unshaped mass of wood or stone &c.: the wood on which criminals were wont to be beheaded: (mech.) a pulley together with its framework; a piece of wood on which something is formed: a connected group of houses: an obstruction: a blockhead.—v.t. to enclose or shut up: to obstruct: to shape or sketch out roughly.—n. Blockade′ the blocking up of a place by surrounding it with troops or by ships.—v.t. to block up by troops or ships.—ns. Block′-head one with a head like a block a stupid fellow; Block′-house a small temporary fort generally made of logs.—adj. Block′ish like a block: stupid: dull.—ns. Block′-print′ing printing of Block′-books from engraved wooden blocks or pages; Block′-ship a war-ship inefficient for service in action on account of age but useful in defence of ports; Block′-sys′tem a system of working trains in which no train is allowed on to a section of line so long as any other train is on that section; Block′-tin tin in the form of blocks or ingots.
Editor: Rosalie
Examples
- Spain had 10,000 muskets to modernize by the same system, and the breech-block attachments were made at Ilion. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- I turned and rode around the block the other way, so as to meet the head of the column. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Gutenberg sat studying the broken block of wood. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- I looked a stupid block, I dare say. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Wood-working implements in which the cutting tool was carried by a sliding block were described in the English patents of General Sir Samuel Bentham and Joseph Bramah, in 1793-94. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The ice in the can is then loosened by warm water, and the block dumped through the door into a chute, whence it passes into the storage room below, seen in Fig. 298. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Pablo pulled and let go as the man had told him and the block snapped forward into place and the pistol was cocked with the hammer back. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- He persuaded them to start cutting the blocks for the Gospel of St. Matthew. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- The metal casting of each page is very thin, and when required to be used, it is screwed on to blocks of wood to the same height as ordinary types. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- In time the blocks were all finished. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- Railroad ties and street paving blocks are ordinarily protected by oil rather than paint. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- He forgot all about his fire-blocks while he sat stock still and thought. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- It was desired to divide large blocks generally at the quarries to facilitate transportation. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- I looked very closely, and the whole book is made from blocks, like the playing-card. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- First he had the entrances to the streets blocked off with carts as though to organize the plaze for a _capea_. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- It is then proofed and blocked. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- I was almost in consternation, so little had I expected any guest from the blocked-up vale that night. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Its streets were blocked up with snow--the few passengers seemed palsied, and frozen by the ungenial visitation of winter. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Several of the back windows on the staircase had been darkened or wholly blocked up. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Many scores of carriages, with blazing lamps, blocked up the street, to the disgust of No. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Shut my eyes as I would, these last words of his succeeded in making the way, which had seemed blocked up, comparatively clear. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Desires for something different, aversion to the given state of things caused by the blocking of successful activity, stimulates the imagination. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- So that you will make haste about it, interrupted I, observing that we were blocking up the road. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
Typed by Freddie