block

verb

blocked; blocking; blocks

transitive verb

1

a

: to make (something) unsuitable for passage or progress by obstruction : obstruct

A rock slide blocked the road.

The entrance was blocked by a gate.

A piece of food was blocking her airway.

Main Street has been blocked off for the parade.

My nose is all blocked up.

Call a plumber. The sink is blocked up.

b

: to stop or hinder (someone or something) from moving through or going by

The ambulance was blocked by traffic.

c

: to prevent (something, such as a process or action) from occurring

Senators tried to block passage of the bill.

The new law blocks liquor sales on Sundays.

block access to free healthcare

d

: to stop (something) from reaching someone or something

a hedge that blocks the wind

He was blocking my light.

e

: to shut off from view

The building blocks our view of the ocean.

f

: to prevent normal functioning or action of

block a nerve with novocaine

g

: to restrict the exchange of (currency, checks, etc.)

block a check from clearing

h

: to interfere usually legitimately with (an opponent, an opponent's shot or move, etc.) in various games or sports

We practiced blocking our opponents.

She blocked the shot with her hand.

i

: to use an automated means to prevent access or connection by (a user, device, etc.) or to (a website, social media page, phone number, etc.)

They blocked the app on their kids' phones.

The judge heard how the threats went on for several years after the friend blocked her on Facebook after they fell out.

—Graeme Hetherington

Russian regulators said Friday that internet users will be blocked from accessing Instagram … in Moscow's latest move to tighten up access to foreign social platforms.

—The Detroit News

j

archaic : blockade

First, when a city shall be as it were besieged and blocked about …

—John Milton

2

: to mark or indicate the outline or chief lines of

block out a design

blocked in the highlights and shadows

3

: to shape on, with, or as if with a block (see block entry 1 sense 1b)

block a hat

4

: to secure, support, or provide with a block (see block entry 1 sense 1)

blocking a plate for printing

block up the rear wheels

5

: to work out (the principal positions and movements) for the performers (as of a play)

also : to work out the players' positions and movements for (a scene or a play)

Blocking a scene is simply "working out the details of an actor's moves in relation to the camera."

—Peter D. Marshall

We then blocked out the play, found costumes, acquired make-up and made props and backgrounds.

—Joshua Schiefelbein

6

typesetting : to make (two or more lines of writing or type) flush at the left or at both left and right

7

golf : to hit (a ball or shot) inaccurately toward the right from a right-handed swing or toward the left from a left-handed swing : push

… you get excited, don't finish your backswing and block your next drive into the foliage.

—Thomas Boswell

intransitive verb

sports : to interfere usually legitimately with an opponent : to block an opponent

needs to practice blocking

blocker noun

Synonyms of block

• fill
• pack
• plug

Choose the Right Synonym for block

hinder, impede, obstruct, block mean to interfere with the activity or progress of.

hinder stresses causing harmful or annoying delay or interference with progress.

rain hindered the climb

impede implies making forward progress difficult by clogging, hampering, or fettering.

tight clothing that impedes movement

obstruct implies interfering with something in motion or in progress by the sometimes intentional placing of obstacles in the way.

the view was obstructed by billboards

block implies complete obstruction to passage or progress.

a landslide blocked the road

Examples of block in a Sentence

There's an accident blocking the road.

The entrance was blocked by a gate.

Blood clots have completely blocked one of his arteries.

The protesters blocked the road with parked vehicles.

The ambulance was blocked by cars in the road.

An accident was blocking traffic.

Could you move to the left, please. You're blocking my light.

a shield that blocks the wind

Several senators are trying to block the passage of the bill.

His vote blocked the treaty.

Recent Examples on the Web

But the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the deal on antitrust grounds, which led Edgewell to walk away from the acquisition. —Amelia Lucas,melissa Repko, CNBC, 7 June 2026

Following the Knicks' victory, police said multiple people refused orders to leave the area, blocked traffic along Seventh and Eighth Avenues from West 31st Street to West 35th Street, and climbed onto food vendor carts, light poles and subway entrances. —Josh Margolin, ABC News, 7 June 2026

The jetties at the entrance shared by the two harbors block the ocean’s longshore currents that carry sand along the coast, causing wide beaches north of the harbor and narrow ones south of it. —Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 June 2026

Fokina claimed that Puerta blocked him on social media after leaving Paris. —Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 7 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing block

• around the block
• been around the block
• big-block
• block and tackle
• block capitals
• block copolymer
• block diagram
• block grant
• block in
• block letter
• block of flats
• block party
• block plane
• breeze-block
• building block
• butcher block
• chip off the old block
• chop block
• chopping block
• cinder block
• heart block
• knock someone's head/block off
• new kid on the block
• on the block
• on the chopping block
• pillow block
• randomized block
• snatch block
• starting block
• stumbling block
• sub-block
• swage block
• throw a block
• tower block
• writer's block

Rhymes for block

• balk
• baulk
• bloc
• bock
• broch
• brock
• calk
• caulk
• chalk
• chock
• clock
• cock

Kids Definition

block

1 of 2 noun

ˈbläk 

1

a

: a solid piece of material (as stone or wood) usually with one or more flat sides

building blocks

b

: a hollow rectangular piece of material (as of glass or concrete) used for building

cinder block

2

a

: a piece of wood on which condemned persons are beheaded

b

: a mold or support on which something is shaped or displayed

c

: the molded part that contains the cylinders of an internal-combustion engine

3

a

: obstacle

b

: the act of slowing down or stopping an opponent's play in sports

c

: interruption of normal function of bodily processes

a heart block

also : interruption especially of train of thought

a mental block

4

: a wooden or metal case for one or more pulleys

5

: a number of things forming a group or unit

a block of seats

6

: a large building divided into separate units

7

a

: a usually rectangular space enclosed by streets

b

: the length of the side of such a block

three blocks south

8

: a stand for something to be sold at auction

9

: a hand-carved piece of material from which copies are to be printed

block

2 of 2 verb

1

a

: to stop up or close off : obstruct

b

: to slow down or stop the progress of

especially : to interfere with an opponent (as in football)

c

: to shut off from view

block the sun

d

: to prevent normal functioning or action of

block a nerve with an anesthetic

2

: to mark the main lines of

block out a sketch

3

: to shape on, with, or as if with a block

4

: to make (lines of writing or type) even at the left or at both left and right

5

: to secure, support, or provide with a block

blocker noun

Medical Definition

block

1 of 2 noun

ˈbläk 

often attributive

1

: interruption of normal physiological function of a tissue or organ

respiratory block due to carbon monoxide

especially : heart block

2

a

: block anesthesia

b

: nerve block sense 1

3

: interruption of a train of thought by competing thoughts or psychological suppression

block

2 of 2 transitive verb

1

: to prevent normal functioning of (a bodily element)

block a nerve with novocaine

2

: to obstruct the effect of

a carboxyl group blocked by esterification

intransitive verb

: to experience or exhibit psychological blocking or blockage

blocker

-ər 

noun