block

[[t]blɒk[/t]]

n.

1) bui a solid mass of wood, stone, etc., usu. with one or more flat or approximately flat faces

2) bui a hollow masonry building unit of cement, terra cotta, etc

3) one of a set of cube-shaped pieces used as a child's toy in building

4) a mold or piece on which something is shaped or kept in shape

5) fia a piece of wood used in the art of making woodcuts or wood engravings

6) a stump or other structure on which a condemned person is beheaded

7) a platform for an auctioneer

8) aum cylinder block

9) mac a part enclosing one or more freely rotating, grooved pulleys, about which ropes or chains pass to form a hoisting or hauling tackle

10) an obstacle, obstruction, or hindrance

11) psi a stoppage in or difficulty in proceeding with mental processes, speech, or writing:

a mental block; writer's block[/ex]

12) pat heart block

13) spo Sports. a hindering of an opponent or an opponent's play

14) bus a quantity, portion, or section taken as a unit or dealt with at one time:

a block of theater tickets[/ex]

15) a small section of a city, town, etc., enclosed by neighboring and intersecting streets

16) the length of one side of such a section:

to walk two blocks[/ex]

17) brit. a large building divided into separate apartments, offices, shops, etc

18) cmp a group of computer data stored and processed as a unit

19) pri the base on which a printing plate is mounted to make it type-high

20) rai any of the short lengths into which a railroad track is divided for signaling purposes

21) phi a group of four or more unseparated stamps not in a strip

22) sts Slang a person's head

23) to obstruct by placing obstacles in the way:

to block one's exit[/ex]

24) to fit with blocks; mount on a block

25) to shape or prepare on or as if on a block:

to block a sweater[/ex]

26) sbz to plot stage movements of or for (often followed by out)

27) cmp to mark off (a portion of text or data) for moving, deleting, printing, etc., as in word processing

28) pat phl to stop the passage of impulses in (a nerve)

29) spo Sports.

a) to obstruct or impede (an opposing player) by physical contact

b) to deflect (an opponent's pass, kick, or shot) during play

30) spo Sports. to obstruct an opposing player physically or deflect an opponent's pass, kick, or shot

31) sbz to block a play, performer, scene, stage, etc

32) to suffer a block

•

- on the block

Etymology: 1275–1325; ME blok log, stump (< MF bloc) < MD blok block′a•ble, adj.