block : Idioms & Phrases

• (Stock Exchange), a large number of shares in a stock company, sold in a lump. Bartlett.

Webster 1913

• a child who resembles either of his parents. Colloq. Milton.-

Webster 1913

• noun any of various drugs that block alpha-adrenergic receptors; used in treating benign prostatic hyperplasia; relaxes the muscles of the prostate and bladder
  alpha-adrenergic blocker; alpha-blocker; alpha blocker.
  

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• noun recurrent sudden attacks of unconsciousness caused by impaired conduction of the impulse that regulates the heartbeat
  atrioventricular block; Stokes-Adams syndrome; Adams-Stokes syndrome.
  

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• noun a platform from which an auctioneer sells
  block.
  
  • they put their paintings on the block

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• noun (computer science) a block (usually one sector) that cannot reliably hold data
  

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• noun any of various drugs used in treating hypertension or arrhythmia; decreases force and rate of heart contractions by blocking beta-adrenergic receptors of the autonomic nervous system
  beta blocker; beta-adrenergic blocking agent; beta-adrenergic blocker.
  

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• noun any of various drugs used in treating hypertension or arrhythmia; decreases force and rate of heart contractions by blocking beta-adrenergic receptors of the autonomic nervous system
  beta blocker; beta-adrenergic blocking agent; beta-adrenergic blocker.
  

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• noun anesthesia of an area supplied by a nerve; produced by an anesthetic agent applied to the nerve
  block anesthesia; block anaesthesia; conduction anaesthesia; conduction anesthesia; nerve block anaesthesia.
  

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• noun pulley blocks with associated rope or cable
  

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• noun anesthesia of an area supplied by a nerve; produced by an anesthetic agent applied to the nerve
  block anesthesia; block anaesthesia; conduction anaesthesia; conduction anesthesia; nerve block anaesthesia.
  

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Block" book`

Definitions

1. A book printed from engraved wooden blocks instead of movable types.

Webster 1913

• noun a plain hand-drawn letter
  block capital.
  

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• noun a diagram showing the interconnections between the components of system (especially an electronic system)
  

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• noun a grant of federal money to state and local governments to support social welfare programs
  
  • block grants reduce federal responsibility for social welfare

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• noun a plain hand-drawn letter
  block capital.
  

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• noun metal that is cast in the shape of a block for convenient handling
  metal bar; ingot.
  

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• verb obstruct access to
  blockade.
  
• verb render unsuitable for passage
  bar; stop; blockade; barricade; block off; block.
  
  • block the way
  • barricade the streets
  • stop the busy road
• verb block off the passage through
  close off; shut off.
  
  • We shut off the valve

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• verb plan where and when songs should be inserted into a theatrical production, or plan a theatrical production in general
  
• verb prevent from entering
  screen.
  
  • block out the strong sunlight
• verb shield from light
  mask.
  
• verb indicate roughly
  
  • We sketched out our plan

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• noun a small plane used on end grains of wood
  

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• . (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.

Webster 1913

• 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.

Webster 1913

Block" tin`

Definitions

1. See under Tin.

Webster 1913

• verb render unsuitable for passage
  bar; stop; blockade; barricade; block off; block.
  
  • block the way
  • barricade the streets
  • stop the busy road

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• noun a vote proportional in magnitude to the number of people that a delegate represents
  

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• noun a class of drugs that inhibit (block) some biological process
  blocker.
  

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Block"ing course`

Definitions

1. (Arch.) The finishing course of a wall showing above a cornice.

Webster 1913

• . (a) The part of a brake holding the brake shoe. (b) A brake shoe.

Webster 1913

• noun a light concrete building block made with cinder aggregate
  cinder block; breeze block.
  
  • cinder blocks are called breeze blocks in Britain

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• noun a single undivided natural thing occurring in the composition of something else
  unit.
  
  • units of nucleic acids
• noun a block of material used in construction work
  

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• noun a pulley-block at the head of a topmast
  bollock.
  

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• noun a thick wooden slab formed by bonding together thick laminated strips of unpainted hardwood
  butcher board.
  

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• (Naut.), a heavy iron-strapped block with a large hook, part of the tackle used in drawing an anchor up to the cathead.

Webster 1913

• noun regional anesthesia resulting from injection of an anesthetic into the caudal end of the spinal canal; now largely replaced by epidural anesthesia
  caudal anesthesia; caudal anaesthesia.
  

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• the two sides of the shell of a tackle block.

Webster 1913

• adverb as completely as possible
  chock.
  
  • it was chock-a-block full

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• noun a steady wooden block on which food can be cut or diced or wood can be split
  

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• a solid block of wood on which butchers and others chop meat, etc.

Webster 1913

• noun a light concrete building block made with cinder aggregate
  cinder block; breeze block.
  
  • cinder blocks are called breeze blocks in Britain

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• noun a rectangular area in a city surrounded by streets and usually containing several buildings
  block.
  
  • he lives in the next block

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• (Naut.), The block through which a clew line reeves. See Illust. of Block.

Webster 1913

• noun a light concrete building block made with cinder aggregate
  cinder block; breeze block.
  
  • cinder blocks are called breeze blocks in Britain

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• noun a metal casting containing the cylinders and cooling ducts of an engine
  cylinder block; block.
  
  • the engine had to be replaced because the block was cracked

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• noun damper consisting of a small felted block that drops onto a piano string to stop its vibration
  piano damper.
  

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• either of two wooden or iron blocks intended to serve instead of buffers at the end of a freight car.

Webster 1913

• noun a metal casting containing the cylinders and cooling ducts of an engine
  cylinder block; block.
  
  • the engine had to be replaced because the block was cracked

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• (Geol.), masses of stone which have been transported from their original resting places by the agency of water, ice, or other causes.

Webster 1913

• (Naut.), a long tackle block having two sheaves of different diameters in the same plane, instead of side by side as in a common double block. Knight.

Webster 1913

Fish"-block` noun

Definitions

1. See Fish-tackle.

Webster 1913

• (Naut.), a pulley whose position shifts to suit the working of the tackle with which it is connected; used in the hoisting tackle of yards.

Webster 1913

• a simple form of tackle block, having one wheel, over which a rope runs; called also whip gin, rubbish pulley, and monkey wheel.

Webster 1913

• printing with gold leaf, as upon a book cover, by means of an engraved block. Knight.

Webster 1913

• (Steam Engine), a block attached in to the crosshead to work in contact with the guide bar.

Webster 1913

• a block on which hats are formed or dressed.

Webster 1913

• a block used to stop up a hawse hole at sea; called also hawse plug.

Webster 1913

• noun recurrent sudden attacks of unconsciousness caused by impaired conduction of the impulse that regulates the heartbeat
  atrioventricular block; Stokes-Adams syndrome; Adams-Stokes syndrome.
  

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• the frame or pedestal in which a railway car axle box slides up and down; also called horn plate.

Webster 1913

• (Naut.), a block fixed in the topgallant or royal rigging, used for raising and lowering light masts and spars.

Webster 1913

• (Naut.), block at the extremity of a yard, through which the halyard of a studding sail is rove.

Webster 1913

• noun engraving consisting of a block that has been etched or engraved
  line engraving; linecut.
  

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• noun a unit of measurement
  measuring unit.
  

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• noun an inability to remember or think of something you normally can do; often caused by emotional tension
  block.
  
  • I knew his name perfectly well but I had a temporary block

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• (Naut.), a small single block strapped with a swivel. R. H. Dana, Jr.

Webster 1913

• (Naut.), a heavy block of cast iron sometimes used as an anchor for mooring vessels.

Webster 1913

• (Steam Engine), a crosshead.

Webster 1913

• noun anesthesia of an area supplied by a nerve; produced by an anesthetic agent applied to the nerve
  block anesthesia; block anaesthesia; conduction anaesthesia; conduction anesthesia; nerve block anaesthesia.
  

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• noun anesthesia of an area supplied by a nerve; produced by an anesthetic agent applied to the nerve
  block anesthesia; block anaesthesia; conduction anaesthesia; conduction anesthesia; nerve block anaesthesia.
  

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• noun a substance that interferes with the neural transmission between motor neurons and skeletal muscles
  

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• noun a building containing offices where work is done
  office building.
  

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• noun regional anesthesia resulting from the injection of a local anesthetic on each side of the cervix; used during labor and childbirth
  

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Pil"lar-block` noun

Definitions

1. See under Pillow.

Webster 1913

• noun a cast-iron or steel block for supporting a journal or bearing
  

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• (Mach.), a block, or standard, for supporting a journal, as of a shaft. It is usually bolted to the frame or foundation of a machine, and is often furnished with journal boxes, and a movable cover, or cap, for tightening the bearings by means of bolts; called also pillar block, or plumber block.

Webster 1913

Plumb"er block`

Definitions

1. A pillow block.

Webster 1913

• noun regional anesthesia resulting from the use of a local anesthetic to deaden the pudendal nerves in the region of the vulva and labia majora; used to ease discomfort during childbirth
  

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• noun 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
  pulley; pulley block; block.
  

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• . Same as Block, n. 6.

Webster 1913

• noun 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
  pulley; pulley block; block.
  

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• (Naut.), a block fitted under the quarters of a yard on each side of the slings, through which the clew lines and sheets are reeved. R. H. Dana, Jr.

Webster 1913

• a block on which the body of a condemned criminal was quartered.

Webster 1913

• . (Naut.) See def. 1 (f), above.

Webster 1913

• (Mech.), a block in an arrangement of pulleys which rises or sinks with the weight which is raised or lowered.

Webster 1913

• noun the parts of a patient's body that would touch a saddle if the patient were sitting in one are anesthetized by injecting a local anesthetic into the spinal cord
  saddle block anaesthesia.
  

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• noun the parts of a patient's body that would touch a saddle if the patient were sitting in one are anesthetized by injecting a local anesthetic into the spinal cord
  saddle block anaesthesia.
  

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• an apparatus for evaporating brine; a salt factory. Knight.

Webster 1913

• noun pad for preliminary or hasty writing or notes or sketches etc
  scratch pad; scratch paper.
  
  • scribbling block" is a British term

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• noun gauge consisting of a scriber mounted on an adjustable stand; used to test the accuracy of plane surfaces
  surface gauge; surface gage.
  

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• (Naut.), a block with two sheaves, one above the other, and at right angles to each other.

Webster 1913

• (Naut.), a block with a projection, or shoulder, near the upper end, so that it can rest against a spar without jamming the rope.

Webster 1913

• noun a book containing sheets of paper on which sketches can be drawn
  sketch pad; sketchbook.
  

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• noun a pulley-block that can be opened to receive the bight of a rope
  

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Snatch block

Definitions

1. (Naut.), a kind of block with an opening in one side to receive the bight of a rope.

Webster 1913

• (Naut.), blocks at the topmast and topgallant-mast heads, for the studding-sail halyards.

Webster 1913

• noun a block in the (approximate) shape of a cube
  cube.
  

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• noun block providing bracing for a runner's feet at start of a race
  

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• a block, usually of wood, to which a stereotype plate is attached while being used in printing.

Webster 1913

• (Carp.), a plane shorter than a jointer, used for fitting a short joint. Moxon.

Webster 1913

• noun any obstacle or impediment
  

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Stum"bling-block` noun

Definitions

1. Any cause of stumbling, perplexity, or error.

   We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness. 1 Cor. i. 23.

Webster 1913

• noun an iron block cut with holes and grooves to assist in cold working metal
  

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• a perforated block of iron, having grooved sides and adapted for use in heading bolts and swaging objects of large size.

Webster 1913

• (Naut.), a fiddle block. See under Fiddle.

Webster 1913

• to begin to reduce to shape; to mark out roughly; to lay out; as, to block out a plan.

Webster 1913

Top"-block` noun

Definitions

1. (Naut.) A large ironbound block strapped with a hook, and, when used, hung to an eyebolt in the cap, -- used in swaying and lowering the topmast. Totten.

Webster 1913

• noun tower consisting of a multistoried building of offices or apartments
  high-rise.
  
  • `tower block' is the British term for `high-rise'

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• noun (American football) an illegal block
  

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• noun engraving consisting of a block of wood with a design cut into it; used to make prints
  wood engraving; woodcut.
  

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• noun an inability to write; the words wouldn't come"
  
  • he had writer's block

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• a large log of wood formerly put on the hearth of Christmas eve, as the foundation of the fire. It was brought in with much ceremony.

Webster 1913