block

The word “block” means a solid piece of a hard material, usually with flat sides. In plain terms, a solid chunk of something, a city section, or (as a verb) to stop something from getting through.

“Block” is pronounced blok (/blɑk/ in IPA).

Here is “block” used in a sentence: “The wall was built from concrete blocks.”

Depending on how it is used, “block” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “block” comes from Old French. From Old French bloc, ultimately from a Germanic word for a tree trunk or log.

“Block” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Block” has 5 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a solid piece of a hard material, usually with flat sides.

A block is a solid piece of hard material, like a block of wood or stone, and has many other everyday meanings. A bloc is a group of countries, parties, or people united by a shared interest, such as a trading bloc. They sound alike but are unrelated.

A brick is a small, standardised building unit, traditionally made of fired clay and sized to fit in one hand. A block is larger and more general — often a bigger unit of concrete used in building, or simply any solid, flat-sided lump of hard material.

Examples include a child's wooden building block, a block of ice, a concrete block in a wall, a butcher's chopping block, or a block of cheese. Each is a solid, usually flat-sided piece of hard material — the core meaning of the word.

Beyond a solid piece, 'block' has many senses. It can mean a section of a town between streets, as in a city block; to block is to obstruct or stop something; and in computing or scheduling it can mean a chunk of data, code, or time.