building block

noun

Definition of building block

: a unit of construction or composition especially : something essential on which a larger entity is based

Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about building block

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Synonyms & Antonyms for building block

Synonyms

component, constituent, element, factor, ingredient, member

Antonyms

whole

Examples of building block in a Sentence

historically the infantry division has been a basic building block of armies

Recent Examples on the Web

Studies also showed young girls building blocks differently than young boys. — Amy Haneline, USA TODAY, "'Girls Who Code' founder Reshma Saujani is a boy mom fighting gender norms. 'Let them fail'," 14 June 2019 Formed by the aggregation of one simple repeating trapezoidal volume at two scales, seating, landscape elements, and building blocks combine to create an all-encompassing, changeable scape of play and ‘zoidal’ discovery. — Lauren Ro, Curbed, "13 exciting designs for playground of the future," 10 May 2018 The second layer then uses these as building blocks to detect slightly more complex shapes. — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, "How computers got shockingly good at recognizing images," 18 Dec. 2018 However, many believe that Mueller is using these indictments essentially as building blocks for his larger case on that central matter. — Andrew Prokop, Vox, "Paul Manafort’s flip is a major turning point in the Mueller investigation," 14 Sep. 2018 With building blocks around every corner, there are lampposts shaped like Tinkertoys and benches built from Lincoln Logs and K’nex pieces. — Shelley Caran, ajc, "Everything you need to know about Toy Story Land at Disney's Hollywood Studios," 29 June 2018 Soy and coconut aminos include building blocks like tryptophan and arginine that are essential to the formation of muscles and that supposedly remove toxins from our bodies. — Kyle Beechey, Bon Appetit, "The Mysterious Hippie Food Brand That's Never Let Me Down," 27 June 2018 Those two figure to be building blocks for the program. — Orion Sang, Detroit Free Press, "Big Ten power rankings: Why Michigan State is better than Michigan," 27 June 2018 Finding a permanent arena at Belmont Park and ownership hiring three-time Cup-winning Lamoriello were seen as building blocks to trying to re-sign Tavares. — Stephen Whyno, chicagotribune.com, "Islanders hire Stanley Cup-winner Barry Trotz as coach," 21 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'building block.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.