block

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of

   They blocked me at every turn.

2. 2
   verb

   to stop from happening or developing

   After reading the fine print, I blocked the deal.

3. 3
   noun

   a platform from which an auctioneer sells

   they put their paintings on the block

4. 4
   noun

   a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)

   the pyramids were built with large stone blocks

5. 5
   noun

   housing in a large building that is divided into separate units

   there is a block of classrooms in the west wing

6. 6
   noun

   an obstruction in a pipe or tube

   we had to call a plumber to clear out the blockage in the drainpipe

7. 7
   noun

   a metal casting containing the cylinders and cooling ducts of an engine

   the engine had to be replaced because the block was cracked

8. 8
   noun

   a number or quantity of related things dealt with as a unit

   I reserved a large block of seats.

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.