BLOCKS Synonyms: 243 Similar and Opposite Words

blocks 1 of 2

noun

plural of block

as in clusters

a number of things considered as a unit bought a block of stocks

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Relevance

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as in obstacles

something that makes movement or progress difficult constant bickering that is only a block to the completion of the project

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as in heads

slang the upper or front part of the body that contains the brain, the major sense organs, and the mouth threatened to knock the block off the jerk next door if he didn't can the noise

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as in factions

a group of people acting together within a larger group a more conservative block within the political party

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as in coalitions

an association of persons, parties, or states for mutual assistance and protection a block of oil-producing nations

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blocks

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of block

as in fills

to close up so that no empty spaces remain block up the opening in the wall where a window once was

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as in obstructs

to prevent passage through by filling with something one of the patient's arteries was so blocked with fatty deposits that blood flow had been reduced to a trickle

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as in intercepts

to stop, seize, or interrupt while in progress or on course a thug suddenly stepped out of a doorway and blocked his escape down the alley

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of blocks

Noun

The World Trade Center operators turned to restaurant impresario Joe Baum to create a dining experience that would draw people to the Manhattan neighborhood largely known for its blocks of stores that sold radios and electronic parts. — Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026 With a top manager in place, and a dressing room united behind him, the building blocks are all there for a positive year. — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026 These are the essential building blocks of an effective system to deny China the ability to freely navigate the Taiwan Strait. — Holmes Liao, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2026 This one’s in a 49-unit prewar building just a few blocks from the water. — Nora Deligter, Curbed, 4 Sep. 2026 The restaurant is just a few blocks away from the middle school. — Bri Buckley, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026 In addition to its combination of historic character, modern systems and design‑driven finishes, the house is set just blocks from McKinley Park, Sellands Neighborhood Cafe & Bar and some of Sacramento’s favorite streets. — David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 29 Aug. 2026 Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the region administration, said that attacks had damaged homes and apartment blocks, and that one child was among the injured. — ABC News, 29 Aug. 2026 Vera said the city hired a private company to assist in picking up debris along neighborhood blocks. — Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026

Verb

Some told the Miami Herald that the ruling blocks the path to asylum and that the cases cannot be evaluated in a vacuum. — Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2026 Stopgap spending bill passes House The House voted yesterday to pass a stopgap government-funding bill that temporarily blocks the White House’s proposal to give political appointees more control over federal research grants. — Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 2 Sep. 2026 Julian Rauch’s 24-yard field goal with 26 seconds left puts the Mountaineers ahead of the Wolverines and Corey Lynch blocks a field goal in the final seconds to seal one of college football’s biggest upsets. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026 If heat control window film blocks enough solar energy to lower indoor temperatures even slightly, your AC does not cycle as often. — Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Sep. 2026 The effect essentially gives Roman a parking spot in space, enabling engineers on Earth to remain in constant contact with the telescope, while making sure Earth never blocks its view of the cosmos. — Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 30 Aug. 2026 If the teams refuse to enroll the players who benefit from the TRO, those players could petition Hoffman to clarify that his order also blocks the SEC from punishing schools. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 29 Aug. 2026 The incident comes just one day after a portion of Southwest Trafficway, just blocks away from the site of the crash, caved in, according to crews with Kansas City’s Water Services Department. — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2026 The Coronagraph Instrument uses technology that blocks the glare from a star. — Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for blocks

Noun

Wire cables, arranged in clusters across a gallery floor, conjure tufts of grass.

— Carolina A. Miranda, The New York Review of Books, 5 Sep. 2026
Cut the clusters in half on an angle and add to shallot mixture (don’t stir).

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of clusters

Noun

Bathrooms have soaking tubs and separate shower areas, rainforest shower heads, lighted make-up mirrors, and plush robes.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Sep. 2026
When a Black professor suggests that the protesting students are infringing on their classmates’ right to use shared areas, her white counterparts shake their heads in disgust for her refusal to capitulate to progressive groupthink.

— Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of heads

Noun

The result is a fractured country, with the Houthis controlling the capital and the northwest, and the government and allied factions holding much of the south and east.

— Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026
While there is no suggestion of any kind of confrontation, there were tensions between different factions in the dressing room as Rosenior’s tenure unravelled.

— Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of factions

Noun

But while anti-immigrant, pro-Russian parties have made inroads across the continent in recent years, there have also been notable reversals, and some have softened their views to build coalitions with moderates.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026
At national level, too, far-right parties now lead coalitions in Italy and the Czech Republic and serve as junior governing partners in Finland, Croatia, Slovakia and Sweden.

— Melissa Bell, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of coalitions

Verb

Desperation fills their lives, amplified by physicians who dismiss their complaints as psychosomatic—in their heads—and then prescribe medications for mental health conditions, such as Prozac or Valium.

— Jerome Groopman, The New York Review of Books, 5 Sep. 2026
The appointment fills a key leadership vacancy atop the nation's largest military branch.

— Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of fills

Verb

DeLand’s Gardner Nordman intercepts a Max Chapman pass and Bulldogs have the ball at their own 27 yard line.

— Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026
Defensive Player of the Week Josiah Griffin, a senior defensive back, intercepts a pass with 90 seconds left and returns it 45 yards for the deciding TD as Waubonsie Valley earns its first win of season with a 28-21 victory over Palatine.

— Rick Armstrong, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026