BLOCKS
Noun
blocks
plural of block
Verb
blocks
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of block
Source: Wiktionary
BLOCK
Block, n. Etym: [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.]
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.
Now all our neighbors' chimneys smoke, And Christmas blocks are
burning. Wither.
All her labor was but as a block Left in the quarry. Tennyson.
2. The solid piece of wood on which condemned persons lay their necks
when they are beheaded.
Noble heads which have been brought to the block. E. Everett.
3. The wooden mold on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped. Hence:
The pattern on shape of a hat.
He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat; it ever changes
with the next block. Shak.
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.
5. A square, or portion of a city inclosed by streets, whether
occupied by buildings or not.
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.
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.
7. (Falconry)
Definition: The perch on which a bird of prey is kept.
8. Any obstruction, or cause of obstruction; a stop; a hindrance; an
obstacle; as, a block in the way.
9. A piece of box or other wood for engravers' work.
10. (Print.)
Definition: A piece of hard wood (as mahogany or cherry) on which a
stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted to make it type high.
11. A blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt. [Obs.]
What a block art thou ! Shak.
12. A section of a railroad where the block system is used. See Block
system, below. 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.
Block, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blocked; p. pr. & vb. n. Blocking.] Etym:
[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.
With moles . . . would block the port. Rowe.
A city . . . besieged and blocked about. Milton.
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.
3. To shape on, or stamp with, a block; as, to block a hat. To block
out, to begin to reduce to shape; to mark out roughly; to lay out;
as, to block out a plan.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition