Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - block

~1 n 1 »SOLID MASS« a solid mass of hard material such as wood or stone with straight sides + of  (a block of ice) 2 »STREET/STREETS« a) AmE the distance along a city street from where one street crosses it to the next  (It's three blocks to the store from here. | She lives down the block.) b) the four city streets that form a square around an area of buildings  (Let's walk around the block before we go in.) 3 »LARGE BUILDING« a large building divided into separate parts  (a block of flats | a tower block | office blocks) 4 »QUANTITY OF THINGS« a quantity of things considered as a single unit + of  (a block of shares in a business | Highlight this block of text.) 5 block booking/voting an arrangement that is made for a whole group, to buy something or to vote together. 6 »UNABLE TO THINK« usually singular) the temporary loss of your normal ability to think, learn, write etc  (mental/writer's block)  (She has a mental block about speaking French.) 7 »STOPPING MOVEMENT« usually singular) something in a pipe, road etc that stops things moving through or along it 8 the block a solid block of wood on which someone's head was cut off as a punishment, in former times  (He was prepared to go to the block for his beliefs.) 9 lay/put your head on the block to risk destroying other people's opinion of you by doing or saying something 10 »SPORT« a movement in sport that stops an opponent going forward 11 »INFORMATION« a physical unit of stored information on a magnetic tape or disk 12 »PRINTING« a piece of wood or metal with words or line drawings cut into it, for printing 13 »LAND« AustrE, NZE a large piece of land  (a ten acre block near the city)  (- see also block capitals, building block, be a chip off the old block chip1 (6), I'll knock your block off. knock1 (4), stumbling block stumble (4)) ~2 v 1 also block up to prevent anything moving through a narrow space by placing something across it or in it  (Your truck is blocking the road. | My nose is blocked up with this cold.) 2 to stop something happening, developing, or succeeding  (The Senate blocked publication of the report.) 3 also block off to be in front of someone so that they cannot see a view, light, the sun etc  (Can you move? You're blocking my light.) 4 block sb's way to stand in front of someone, so that they cannot go past  (The teacher stood at the entrance, blocking the children's way.) 5 technical to limit the use of a particular country's money  (a blocked currency) block sth in/out ~ phr v to make a drawing of something that gives a general idea but is not exact  (I'll just block in the main buildings.) block sth off ~ phr v to completely close a road or path