blocking

[ blok-ing ]

/ ˈblɒk ɪŋ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR blocking ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Carpentry.

a number of small pieces of wood for filling interstices, or for spacing, joining, or reinforcing members.

Origin of blocking

First recorded in 1575–85; block + -ing¹

OTHER WORDS FROM blocking

non·block·ing, adjective, noun

Words nearby blocking

blocker, blockflöte, blockhead, blockhouse, blockie, blocking, blocking activity, blocking agent, blocking antibody, blocking capacitor, blockish

Definition for blocking (2 of 2)

block

[ blok ]

/ blɒk /

noun

a solid mass of wood, stone, etc., usually with one or more flat or approximately flat faces.

a hollow masonry building unit of cement, terra cotta, etc.: a wall made of concrete blocks.

one of a set of cube-shaped pieces of wood, plastic, or the like, used as a child's toy in building.

a mold or piece on which something is shaped or kept in shape: a hat block.

a piece of wood used in the art of making woodcuts or wood engravings.

Printing. the base on which a plate is mounted to make it type-high.

a projection left on a squared stone to provide a means of lifting it.

a short length of plank serving as a bridging, as between joists.

a stump or wooden structure on which a condemned person is beheaded: Mary Stuart went bravely to the block.

auction block.

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

an obstacle, obstruction, or hindrance: His stubbornness is a block to all my efforts.

the state or condition of being obstructed; blockage: The traffic block lasted several hours.

Pathology.

an obstruction, as of a nerve.
heart block.

Sports. a hindering of an opponent's actions.

a quantity, portion, or section taken as a unit or dealt with at one time: a large block of theater tickets.

a small section of a city, town, etc., enclosed by neighboring and intersecting streets: She lives on my block.

the length of one side of such a section: We walked two blocks over.

Chiefly British. a large building divided into separate apartments, offices, shops, etc.

a large number of bonds or shares of stock sold together as a single unit.

Computers.

a group of data stored as a unit on an external storage medium and handled as a unit by the computer for input or output: This file has 20 records per block.
a section of storage locations in a computer allocated to a particular set of instructions or data.
a group of consecutive machine words organized as a unit and guiding a particular computer operation, especially with reference to input and output.
(on a flow chart) a symbol representing an operation, device, or instruction in a computer program.

Railroads. any of the short lengths into which a track is divided for signaling purposes.

Philately. a group of four or more unseparated stamps, not in a strip.

Slang. a person's head.

Glassmaking. a wooden or metal cup for blocking a gather.

an obstruction or stoppage in mental processes or speech, especially when related to stress, emotional conflict, etc.

writer's block.

Geology.

any large, angular mass of solid rock.
fault block.

(in Canada) a wild or remote area of land that has not yet been surveyed: the Peace River block.

Automotive. cylinder block.

Falconry. a low perch to which a falcon is tethered outdoors.

verb (used with object)

to obstruct (someone or something) by placing obstacles in the way (sometimes followed by up): to block one's exit; to block up a passage.

to fit with blocks; mount on a block.

to shape or prepare on or with a block: to block a hat; to block a sweater.

to join (the ends of boards or the like) by fastening to a block of wood.

Theater.

Also block out. to plan or work out the movement of performers in a play, pageant, etc.: Tomorrow we'll block act one.
to draw a floor plan on (a stage) in order to indicate placement of scenery, stage property, etc.

Pathology, Physiology. to stop the passage of impulses in (a nerve).

Computers. to group (contiguous data) together so as to allow to be read or written in a single operation.

Sports. to hinder or bar the actions or movements of (an opposing player), especially legitimately.

Glassmaking.

to shape (a molten gather) in a wet cup of wood or metal.
to plunge a block of wood into (molten glass) to aid in refining the glass.

Metalworking. to give (a forging) a rough form before finishing.

Electronics. to apply a high negative bias to the grid of (a vacuum tube), for reducing the plate current to zero.

verb (used without object)

to act so as to obstruct an opponent, as in football, hockey, and basketball: He doesn't get many baskets, but he sure can block.

Theater. to block a play, act, scene, stage, etc.: The director will block tomorrow.

to suffer a block.

Verb Phrases

block in/out, to sketch or outline roughly or generally, without details: She blocked out a color scheme for the interiors.

block out,

block(def 36a).
Basketball. to box out.

Origin of block

1275–1325; Middle English blok log, stump (< Middle French bloc) < Middle Dutch blok; perhaps akin to balk

SYNONYMS FOR block

12 impediment, blockade, barrier, stoppage, jam.

32 close, blockade, impede; hinder, deter, stop.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR block ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM block

block·a·ble, adjective re·block, verb (used with object) sub·block, noun un·blocked, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH block

bloc block

Example sentences from the Web for blocking

Because of this, the peacekeeping forces have been blocking Muslims from leaving on envoys out of the country.

The Year’s Most Forgotten Humanitarian Crisis |Nina Strochlic |January 1, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
This same fear has recently resurfaced as the number one excuse for blocking a proposed subway through Beverly Hills.

The Fiery Underground Oil Pit Eating L.A. |Geoff Manaugh |December 6, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
For starters, the Ello beta launched without any privacy controls or blocking options.

Ello, Is It You We’re Looking For? |Samantha Allen |September 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
That was when the blinds were closed, blocking Fretland and the other witnesses from what happened next.

Lifting the Curtain on Oklahoma's Botched Lethal Injection |Caitlin Dickson |August 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

During the ensuing protests, Sharpton spoke of blocking a major highway, U.S. 40.

Missouri Cops' License to Kill |Michael Daly |August 19, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The owner of the Jas-Meiffren had not even thought of blocking it up.

The Fortune of the Rougons |Emile Zola
A blocking press is now, in consequence of the size of many of the blocks, a large and cumbersome machine.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 2 |Various
There was another train before us blocking the way, and the guard was making use of the delay to collect the Blackwater tickets.

Great Ghost Stories |Various
"My father is not alone," she said, quickly, blocking his way.

The Confessions of Arsne Lupin |Maurice Leblanc
The announcement of the blocking of Canton harbor is the only important event of the week in the Franco-Chinese struggle.

Prairie Farmer, Vol. 56: No. 3, January 19, 1884. |Various

British Dictionary definitions for blocking (1 of 2)

blocking

/ (ˈblɒkɪŋ) /

noun

electronics the interruption of anode current in a valve because of the application of a high negative voltage to the grid

internal congestion in a communication system that prevents the transmission of information

British Dictionary definitions for blocking (2 of 2)

block

/ (blɒk) /

noun

a large solid piece of wood, stone, or other material with flat rectangular sides, as for use in building

any large solid piece of wood, stone, etc, usually having at least one face fairly flat

such a piece on which particular tasks may be done, as chopping, cutting, or beheading

Also called: building block one of a set of wooden or plastic cubes as a child's toy

a form on which things are shaped or displayed a wig block

slang a person's head (esp in the phrase knock someone's block off)

do one's block Australian and NZ slang to become angry

a dull, unemotional, or hardhearted person

a large building of offices, flats, etc

a group of buildings in a city bounded by intersecting streets on each side
the area or distance between such intersecting streets

Australian and NZ an area of land for a house, farm, etc

Australian and NZ a log, usually a willow, fastened to a timber base and used in a wood-chopping competition

an area of land, esp one to be divided for building or settling

See cylinder block

a piece of wood, metal, or other material having an engraved, cast, or carved design in relief, used either for printing or for stamping book covers, etc
British a letterpress printing plate, esp one mounted type-high on wood or metal

a casing housing one or more freely rotating pulleys See also block and tackle

on the block mainly US and Canadian up for auction

the act of obstructing or condition of being obstructed, as in sports

an obstruction or hindrance

pathol

interference in the normal physiological functioning of an organ or part
See heart block
See nerve block

psychol a short interruption of perceptual or thought processes

obstruction of an opponent in a sport

a section or quantity, as of tickets or shares, handled or considered as a single unit
(as modifier)a block booking; block voting

a stretch of railway in which only one train may travel at a time
(as modifier)a block signal

an unseparated group of four or more postage stamps Compare strip 1 (def. 3)

a pad of paper

computing a group of words treated as a unit of data on a tape, disk, etc

athletics short for starting block

cricket a mark made near the popping crease by a batsman to indicate his position in relation to the wicket

a chip off the old block informal a person who resembles one of his or her parents in behaviour

verb (mainly tr)

to shape or form (something) into a block

to fit with or mount on a block

to shape by use of a block to block a hat

(often foll by up) to obstruct (a passage, channel, etc) or prevent or impede the motion or flow of (something or someone) by introducing an obstacle to block the traffic; to block up a pipe

to impede, retard, or prevent (an action, procedure, etc)

to stamp (a title, design, etc) on (a book cover, etc) by means of a block (see sense 12), esp using gold leaf or other foil

(esp of a government or central bank) to limit the use or conversion of assets or currency

(also intr) sport to obstruct or impede movement by (an opponent)

(intr) to suffer a psychological block

to interrupt a physiological function, as by use of an anaesthetic

(also intr) cricket to play (a ball) defensively

Derived forms of block

blocker, noun

Word Origin for block

C14: from Old French bloc, from Dutch blok; related to Old High German bloh

Medical definitions for blocking

block

[ blŏk ]

n.

Interruption, especially obstruction, of a normal physiological function.

Interruption, complete or partial, permanent or temporary, of the passage of a nervous impulse.

Atrioventricular block.

Sudden cessation of speech or a thought process without an immediate observable cause, sometimes considered a consequence of repression.

v.

To arrest passage through; obstruct.

Other words from block

block′age (blŏk′ĭj) n.

Scientific definitions for blocking

block and tackle

[ blŏk ]

An arrangement of pulleys and ropes used to reduce the amount of force needed to move heavy loads. One pulley is attached to the load, and rope or chains connect this pulley to a fixed pulley. Each pulley may have multiple grooves or wheels for the rope to pass over numerous times. Pulling the rope or chain slowly draws the load-bearing pulley toward the fixed one with high mechanical advantage.

Idioms and Phrases with blocking

block

see chip off the old block; knock someone's block off; on the block; stumbling block.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

blocking

noun Carpentry.

Origin of blocking

OTHER WORDS FROM blocking

Words nearby blocking

Definition for blocking (2 of 2)

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Verb Phrases

Origin of block

SYNONYMS FOR block

OTHER WORDS FROM block

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH block

Example sentences from the Web for blocking

British Dictionary definitions for blocking (1 of 2)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for blocking (2 of 2)

noun

verb (mainly tr)

Derived forms of block

Word Origin for block

Medical definitions for blocking

n.

v.

Other words from block

Scientific definitions for blocking

Idioms and Phrases with blocking

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

blocking

noun Carpentry.

Origin of blocking

OTHER WORDS FROM blocking

Words nearby blocking

Definition for blocking (2 of 2)

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Verb Phrases

Origin of block

SYNONYMS FOR block

OTHER WORDS FROM block

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH block

Words related to blocking

Example sentences from the Web for blocking

British Dictionary definitions for blocking (1 of 2)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for blocking (2 of 2)

noun

verb (mainly tr)

Derived forms of block

Word Origin for block

Medical definitions for blocking

n.

v.

Other words from block

Scientific definitions for blocking

Idioms and Phrases with blocking