Block

How to spell block

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce block

What does block mean?

1. nounA solid, usually rectangular, piece of a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal.
2. verbTo obstruct or prevent movement, progress, or passage.
3. nounA section of a town or city bounded by streets on each side.

Block in a sentence

• noun

  The builder lifted a heavy concrete block onto the wall.

• verb

  A fallen tree can block the road for hours.

• noun

  The cafe is just one block from the station.

• noun

  She sharpened the knife against a block of stone.

• verb

  Firewalls help block unwanted access to the network.

• noun

  They walked around the block to find a parking space.

Where does block come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Block came into English in the late 1300s from the Old French bloc, meaning 'a log' or 'a solid lump', which was itself borrowed from a Germanic source, the Middle Dutch and Middle Low German blok, also meaning 'tree trunk' or 'log'. The earliest English uses described a solid mass of wood or stone, including the grim sense of the executioner's block on which prisoners were beheaded. From that physical lump the meaning fanned out widely: a block could obstruct a path, so the verb 'to block' arose, and a compact mass of buildings became a city block. The spelling stayed simple and phonetic throughout, with the hard 'ck' ending that English regularly uses after a short vowel, which is why block has never been a serious spelling trap.

How the word is built

• block (single root, no affixes; from Middle Dutch/Old French bloc 'a log or solid lump')

Words that sound like block

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• bloc: A group of countries, parties, or interests united by a common purpose or agreement.