block

Universal Words noun, verb noun solid material 1 [C] a large piece of a solid material that is square in shape and usually has flat sides: a block of ice / concrete / stone * a chopping block (= for cutting food on) seealsoBREEZEBLOCK, BUILDINGBLOCK, CINDERBLOCK for punishment 2 (the block) [sing.] (in the past) the piece of wood on which a person's head was cut off as a punishment building 3 [C] (BrE) a tall building that contains flats or offices; buildings that form part of a school, hospital, etc. which are used for a particular purpose: a tower block * a block of flats * an office block * the university's science block streets 4 [C] a group of buildings with streets on all sides: She took the dog for a walk around the block. 5 [C] (AmE) the length of one side of a piece of land or group of buildings, from the place where one street crosses it to the next: His apartment is three blocks away from the police station. area of land 6 [C] (especially AmE) a large area of land amount 7 [C] a quantity of sth or an amount of time that is considered as a single unit: a block of shares * a block of text in a document * (BrE) The theatre gives discounts for block bookings (= a large number of tickets bought at the same time). * The three-hour class is divided into four blocks of 45 minutes each. that stops progress 8 [C,usually sing.] something that makes movement or progress difficult or impossible SYNOBSTACLE: Lack of training acts as a block to progress in a career. * Tony had writer's block for two years (= he couldn't write anything). seealsoROADBLOCK, STUMBLINGBLOCK in sport 9 [C] a movement that stops another player from going forward 10 (the blocks) [pl.] = STARTINGBLOCKS IDIOMS go on the block to be sold, especially at an AUCTION (= a sale in which items are sold to the person who offers the most money) put / lay your head / neck on the block to risk losing your job, damaging your reputation, etc. by doing or saying sth: It's not a matter that I'm prepared to put my head on the block for. moreatCHIPn., KNOCKv. verb [VN] 1 to stop sth from moving or flowing through a pipe, a passage, a road, etc. by putting sth in it or across it: After today's heavy snow, many roads are still blocked. * a blocked sink 2 ~ sb's way, exit, view, etc. to stop sb from going somewhere or seeing sth by standing in front of them or in their way: One of the guards moved to block her path. * An ugly new building blocked the view from the window. * His way was blocked by two large bouncers. 3 to prevent sth from happening, developing or making progress: The proposed merger has been blocked by the government. 4 to stop a ball, blow, etc. from reaching somewhere by moving in front of it: Zola's shot was blocked by the goalie. PHRASALVERBS block sb/sth<->in to prevent a car from being able to be driven away by parking too close to it: He found that his car had been blocked in. block sth<->in to draw or paint sth roughly, without showing any detail: I have blocked in the shapes of the larger buildings. block sth<->off to close a road or an opening by placing a barrier at one end or in front of it: The main roads of the city have been blocked off. block sth<->out 1 to stop light or noise from coming in: Black clouds blocked out the sun. * He put his hands over his ears to block out the noise. 2 to stop yourself from thinking about or remembering sth unpleasant: Over the years she had tried to block out that part of her life. block sth<->up to completely fill a hole or an opening and so prevent anything from passing through it: One door had been blocked up. * My nose is blocked up.