block out

verb

blocked out; blocking out; blocks out

1

: to hide or cover something so that it cannot be seen, felt, or heard

Clouds blocked out the sun.

We put on music to block out the sound of the traffic.

2

: to force oneself not to think about (something)

He tried to block the event out.

3

: to ignore (something)

blocking out distractions

see also:

block entry 2 sense 2

Examples of block out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This all proves a pretty bad showing for the SoundForm Play ANC, since quality noise cancelling is a good way to help ensure kids won’t want or need to dial the volume up on their headphones to block out distracting external noise. — Mark Knapp, PC Magazine, 3 Nov. 2026

Martinez also recommends the Loop Quiet 2 Earplugs for blocking out background noise. — Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 31 Oct. 2026

Going back and forth between the two, the XM4C blocks out a little more of the low end from air conditioners and big trucks driving by outside. — John Higgins, The Verge, 26 Oct. 2026

Elsewhere, the opposition are man-to-man across the pitch, with full-backs ready to jump forward and McBurnie curving his run to block out the short pass to Tyrone Mings. — Thom Harris, New York Times, 14 Oct. 2026

Rhymes for block out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout