building block
noun
: a unit of construction or composition
especially
: something essential on which a larger entity is based
Synonyms
Examples of building block in a Sentence
historically the infantry division has been a basic building block of armies
Recent Examples on the Web
Advertisement These are the building blocks of patterns in flavor.
—
Betty Hallock, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024
Collagen is a crucial building block of skin, bones, tendons, and ligaments.
—Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024
These shapes, usually triangles, are the building blocks of almost all 3-D graphics.
—Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
By establishing building blocks over time and growing with the user, companies could experience more healthy activations and retention—while helping their customers gain the most value from their applications.
—Stephen Hsu, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
But Dell has built—and hung on to—an empire that now provides the technological building blocks for 99% of Fortune 500 companies, most of which will have new needs in this new era of AI.
—Michal Lev-Ram, Fortune, 25 Mar. 2024
The land’s native plants — pulses, wheat, grapes, olives — have been the building blocks of cookery for countless cultures.
—Tim Carman, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024
They're made out of building blocks or other types of pieces that can be put together to build the robot.
—Julie Evans, Parents, 12 Mar. 2024
Gmail was a game changer in several other ways while becoming the first building block in the expansion of Google's internet empire beyond its still-dominant search engine.
—Michael Liedtke, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2024
Betty Hallock, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024
Collagen is a crucial building block of skin, bones, tendons, and ligaments.
—Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024
These shapes, usually triangles, are the building blocks of almost all 3-D graphics.
—Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
By establishing building blocks over time and growing with the user, companies could experience more healthy activations and retention—while helping their customers gain the most value from their applications.
—Stephen Hsu, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
But Dell has built—and hung on to—an empire that now provides the technological building blocks for 99% of Fortune 500 companies, most of which will have new needs in this new era of AI.
—Michal Lev-Ram, Fortune, 25 Mar. 2024
The land’s native plants — pulses, wheat, grapes, olives — have been the building blocks of cookery for countless cultures.
—Tim Carman, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024
They're made out of building blocks or other types of pieces that can be put together to build the robot.
—Julie Evans, Parents, 12 Mar. 2024
Gmail was a game changer in several other ways while becoming the first building block in the expansion of Google's internet empire beyond its still-dominant search engine.
—Michael Liedtke, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'building block.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near building block
Cite this Entry
“Building block.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/building%20block. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share