Result from Foreign Dictionaries (6 entries found)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Block \Block\ (bl[o^]k), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Blocked} (bl[o^]kt); p. pr. & vb. n. {Blocking}.] [Cf. F. bloquer, fr. bloc block. See {Block}, n.] 1. 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; to block an entrance. [1913 Webster] With moles . . . would block the port. --Rowe. [1913 Webster] A city . . . besieged and blocked about. --Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. 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. [1913 Webster] 3. To shape on, or stamp with, a block; as, to block a hat. [1913 Webster] 4. to cause (any activity) to halt by creating an obstruction; as, to block a nerve impulse; to block a biochemical reaction with a drug. [PJC] {To block out}, to begin to reduce to shape; to mark out roughly; to lay out; to outline; as, to block out a plan. [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Block \Block\ (bl[o^]k), n. [OE. blok; cf. F. bloc (fr. OHG.), D. & Dan. blok, Sw. & G. block, OHG. bloch. There is also an OHG. bloch, biloh; bi by + the same root as that of E. lock. Cf. {Block}, v. t., {Blockade}, and see {Lock}.] [1913 Webster] 1. 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. [1913 Webster] Now all our neighbors' chimneys smoke, And Christmas blocks are burning. --Wither. [1913 Webster] All her labor was but as a block Left in the quarry. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster] 2. The solid piece of wood on which condemned persons lay their necks when they are beheaded. [1913 Webster] Noble heads which have been brought to the block. --E. Everett. [1913 Webster] 3. The wooden mold on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped. Hence: The pattern or shape of a hat. [1913 Webster] He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat; it ever changes with the next block. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 4. 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. [1913 Webster] 5. A square, or portion of a city inclosed by streets, whether occupied by buildings or not. [1913 Webster] The new city was laid out in rectangular blocks, each block containing thirty building lots. Such an average block, comprising 282 houses and covering nine acres of ground, exists in Oxford Street. --Lond. Quart. Rev. [1913 Webster] 6. 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. [1913 Webster] 7. (Falconry) The perch on which a bird of prey is kept. [1913 Webster] 8. Any obstruction, or cause of obstruction; a stop; a hindrance; an obstacle; -- also called {blockage}; as, a block in the way; a block in an artery; a block in a nerve; a block in a biochemical pathway. [1913 Webster] 9. A piece of box or other wood for engravers' work. [1913 Webster] 10. (Print.) A piece of hard wood (as mahogany or cherry) on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted to make it type high. [1913 Webster] 11. A blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] What a block art thou ! --Shak. [1913 Webster] 12. A section of a railroad where the block system is used. See {Block system}, below. [1913 Webster] 13. In Australia, one of the large lots into which public land, when opened to settlers, is divided by the government surveyors. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 14. (Cricket) (a) The position of a player or bat when guarding the wicket. (b) A block hole. (c) The popping crease. [R.] [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 15. a number of individual items sold as a unit; as, a block of airline ticketes; a block of hotel rooms; a block of stock. [PJC] 16. the length of one side of a city block[5], traversed along any side; as, to walk three blocks ahead and turn left at the corner. [PJC] 17. a halt in a mental process, especially one due to stress, memory lapse, confusion, etc.; as, a writer's block; to have a block in remembering a name. [PJC] 18. (computers) a quantity of binary-encoded information transferred, or stored, as a unit to, from, or on a data storage device; as, to divide a disk into 512-byte blocks. [PJC] 19. (computers) a number of locations in a random-access memory allocated to storage of specific data; as, to allocate a block of 1024 bytes for the stack. [PJC] {A block of shares} (Stock Exchange), a large number of shares in a stock company, sold in a lump. --Bartlett. {Block printing}. (a) A mode of printing (common in China and Japan) from engraved boards by means of a sheet of paper laid on the linked surface and rubbed with a brush. --S. W. Williams. (b) A method of printing cotton cloth and paper hangings with colors, by pressing them upon an engraved surface coated with coloring matter. {Block system} on railways, a system by which the track is divided into sections of three or four miles, and trains are so run by the guidance of electric signals that no train enters a section or block before the preceding train has left it. {Back blocks}, Australian pastoral country which is remote from the seacoast or from a river. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: block n 1: a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides); "the pyramids were built with large stone blocks" 2: a rectangular area in a city surrounded by streets and usually containing several buildings; "he lives in the next block" [syn: {block}, {city block}] 3: a three-dimensional shape with six square or rectangular sides [syn: {block}, {cube}] 4: 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" 5: housing in a large building that is divided into separate units; "there is a block of classrooms in the west wing" 6: (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" 7: 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" [syn: {block}, {mental block}] 8: a simple machine consisting of a wheel with a groove in which a rope can run to change the direction or point of application of a force applied to the rope [syn: {pulley}, {pulley-block}, {pulley block}, {block}] 9: a metal casting containing the cylinders and cooling ducts of an engine; "the engine had to be replaced because the block was cracked" [syn: {engine block}, {cylinder block}, {block}] 10: an obstruction in a pipe or tube; "we had to call a plumber to clear out the blockage in the drainpipe" [syn: {blockage}, {block}, {closure}, {occlusion}, {stop}, {stoppage}] 11: a platform from which an auctioneer sells; "they put their paintings on the block" [syn: {auction block}, {block}] 12: the act of obstructing or deflecting someone's movements [syn: {blocking}, {block}] v 1: render unsuitable for passage; "block the way"; "barricade the streets"; "stop the busy road" [syn: {barricade}, {block}, {blockade}, {stop}, {block off}, {block up}, {bar}] 2: hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of; "His brother blocked him at every turn" [syn: {obstruct}, {blockade}, {block}, {hinder}, {stymie}, {stymy}, {embarrass}] 3: stop from happening or developing; "Block his election"; "Halt the process" [syn: {stop}, {halt}, {block}, {kibosh}] 4: interfere with or prevent the reception of signals; "Jam the Voice of America"; "block the signals emitted by this station" [syn: {jam}, {block}] 5: run on a block system; "block trains" 6: interrupt the normal function of by means of anesthesia; "block a nerve"; "block a muscle" 7: shut out from view or get in the way so as to hide from sight; "The thick curtain blocked the action on the stage"; "The trees obstruct my view of the mountains" [syn: {obstruct}, {block}] 8: stamp or emboss a title or design on a book with a block; "block the book cover" 9: obstruct; "My nose is all stuffed"; "Her arteries are blocked" [syn: {stuff}, {lug}, {choke up}, {block}] [ant: {loosen up}, {unstuff}] 10: block passage through; "obstruct the path" [syn: {obstruct}, {obturate}, {impede}, {occlude}, {jam}, {block}, {close up}] [ant: {disengage}, {free}] 11: support, secure, or raise with a block; "block a plate for printing"; "block the wheels of a car" 12: impede the movement of (an opponent or a ball); "block an attack" [syn: {parry}, {block}, {deflect}] 13: be unable to remember; "I'm drawing a blank"; "You are blocking the name of your first wife!" [syn: {forget}, {block}, {blank out}, {draw a blank}] [ant: {call back}, {call up}, {recall}, {recollect}, {remember}, {retrieve}, {think}] 14: shape by using a block; "Block a hat"; "block a garment" 15: shape into a block or blocks; "block the graphs so one can see the results clearly" 16: prohibit the conversion or use of (assets); "Blocked funds"; "Freeze the assets of this hostile government" [syn: {freeze}, {block}, {immobilize}, {immobilise}] [ant: {free}, {release}, {unblock}, {unfreeze}] From The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003) [jargon]: block v. [common; from process scheduling terminology in OS theory] 1. vi. To delay or sit idle while waiting for something. ?We're blocking until everyone gets here.? Compare {busy-wait}. 2. block on vt. To block, waiting for (something). ?Lunch is blocked on Phil's arrival.? From Swedish-English FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.1.1 [fd-swe-eng]: block block; pad From German-English FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.3.3 [fd-deu-eng]: Block /blɔk/ block