[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

block \block\ blo^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 block5, 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.
see also:
block blockade lock blockage block system a block of shares 
block printing back blocks 

Block >> B Words
Block, definition of term: Block
block_pag1.html

Shares >> S Words
Shares, definition of term: Shares
shares_pag1.html

Block Out >> B Words
Block Out, definition of term: Block Out
block+out_pag1.html

Block Letter >> B Words
Block Letter, definition of term: Block Letter
block+letter_pag1.html

Block Grant >> B Words
Block Grant, definition of term: Block Grant
block+grant_pag1.html

Wood Block >> W Words
Wood Block, definition of term: Wood Block
wood+block_pag1.html

Sig Block >> S Words
Sig Block, definition of term: Sig Block
sig+block_pag1.html

Office Block >> O Words
Office Block, definition of term: Office Block
office+block_pag1.html

Building Block >> B Words
Building Block, definition of term: Building Block
building+block_pag1.html

Gin Block >> G Words
Gin Block, definition of term: Gin Block
gin+block_pag1.html

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