- [countable] a large piece of a solid material that is square or rectangular in shape and usually has flat sides
- The houses are made of concrete blocks with tin roofs.
- block of something a block of ice/wood
- The wall was made from massive blocks of stone.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- huge
- large
- …
- on the chopping block
Definitions on the go
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- [countable] (British English) a tall building that contains flats or offices; buildings that form part of a school, hospital, etc. which are used for a particular purpose
- a block of flats
- a tower block
- an office block
- She lives in a modern apartment block.
- the university’s science block
Synonyms buildingbuildingproperty ▪ premises ▪ complex ▪ structure ▪ blockThese are all words for a structure such as a house, office block or factory that has a roof and four wallsbuilding a structure such as a house, an office block or a factory that has a roof and four walls.property a building or buildings and the surrounding land; land and buildings:- We have a buyer who would like to view the property.
- The price of property has risen enormously.
- The company is looking for larger premises.
- a leisure complex
- The pier is a wooden structure.
- a block of flats
- the school’s science block
- a(n) commercial/industrial/residential building/property/premises/complex/block
- an apartment building/complex/block
- a/the school building/premises
- to build a property/complex/structure/block
- to put up a building/property/structure/block
- to demolish/pull down a building/property/complex/structure/block
Extra ExamplesTopics Buildingsb1- They live in the next block.
- The prisoners had been transferred to a different cell block.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- high-rise
- tower
- tenement
- …
- in a/the block
- block of
- [countable] (North American English) the length of one side of a piece of land or group of buildings, from the place where one street crosses it to the next
- His apartment is three blocks away from the police station.
- They walked a few blocks down the street.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- city
- around the block
- round the block
- block from
- …
- [countable] a group of buildings with streets on all sides
- around the block She took the dog for a walk around the block.
- (North American English) The downtown area covers four city blocks.
Extra ExamplesTopics Transport by car or lorryb1, Buildingsb1- The hotel occupies an entire block.
- People were queueing round the block to get in.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- city
- around the block
- round the block
- block from
- …
- [countable] (especially North American English) a large area of land
- [countable] (Australian English) an area of land for building a house on
- [countable] a quantity of something or an amount of time that is considered as a single unit
- a block of shares
- a block of text in a document
- (British English) The theatre gives discounts for block bookings (= a large number of tickets bought at the same time).
- The three-hour class is divided into four blocks of 45 minutes each.
- [countable, usually singular] block (to something) something that makes movement or progress difficult or impossible synonym obstacle
- Lack of training acts as a block to progress in a career.
- I suddenly had a mental block and couldn't remember his name.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- mental
- writer’s
- experience
- have
- suffer from
- …
- [countable] a movement that stops another player from going forward
- the blocks(also starting blocks)[plural] the two blocks on the ground that runners push their feet against at the beginning of a race
- the block[singular] (in the past) the piece of wood on which a person’s head was cut off as a punishment see also chopping block (2)Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
- big
- huge
- large
- …
- on the chopping block
solid material
building
streets
area of land
amount
that stops progress
in sport
for punishment
Word OriginMiddle English (denoting a log or tree stump): from Old French bloc (noun), bloquer (verb), from Middle Dutch blok, of unknown ultimate origin.
Idioms
See block in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee block in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englisha chip off the old block
- (informal) a person who is very similar to their mother or father in the way that they look or behave
go on the block
- to be sold, especially at an auction (= a sale in which items are sold to the person who offers the most money)
have been around the block (a few times)
- (informal) to have a lot of experience
I’ll knock your block/head off!
- (informal) used to threaten somebody that you will hit them
a/the new kid on the block
- (informal) a person who is new to a place, an organization, etc.
- Despite his six years in politics, he was still regarded by many as the new kid on the block.
put/lay your head/neck on the block
- to risk losing your job, damaging your reputation, etc. by doing or saying something
- It's not a matter that I'm prepared to put my head on the block for.
Check pronunciation:
block