block out
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block
(blŏk)n.
1.
a. A solid piece of a hard substance, such as wood, having one or more flat sides.
b. Such a piece used as a construction member or as a support.
c. Such a piece upon which chopping or cutting is done: a butcher's block.
d. Such a piece upon which persons are beheaded.
e. One of a set of small wooden or plastic pieces, such as a cube, bar, or cylinder, used as a building toy.
f. Printing A large amount of text.
g. Sports A starting block.
2. A stand from which articles are displayed and sold at an auction: Many priceless antiques went on the block.
3. A mold or form on which an item is shaped or displayed: a hat block.
4. A substance, such as wood or stone, that has been prepared for engraving.
5.
a. A pulley or a system of pulleys set in a casing.
b. An engine block.
6. A bloc.
7. A set of like items, such as shares of stock, sold or handled as a unit.
8. A group of four or more unseparated postage stamps forming a rectangle.
9. Canadian A group of townships in an unsurveyed area.
10.
a. A usually rectangular section of a city or town bounded on each side by consecutive streets.
b. A segment of a street bounded by consecutive cross streets and including its buildings and inhabitants.
11. A large building divided into separate units, such as apartments.
12. A length of railroad track controlled by signals.
13. Something that obstructs; an obstacle: The disabled car formed a block in traffic.
14. The act of preventing someone or something from advancing, passing, or progressing, as:
a. Sports An act of bodily obstruction, as of a player or the ball.
b. Football An act of legally using one's body to obstruct or move a defensive player so that a player in possession of the ball may advance downfield, pass, or otherwise execute an offensive play.
15. Medicine Interruption or obstruction of a physiological function: nerve block.
16. Psychology A sudden cessation of speech or a thought process without an immediate observable cause, sometimes considered a consequence of repression. Also called mental block.
17. Slang The human head: threatened to knock my block off.
v. blocked, block·ing, blocks
v.tr.
1.
a. To stop or impede the passage of or movement through; obstruct: block traffic; mud that blocked the pipe.
b. To prevent from happening, succeeding, or progressing: blocked every attempt to reform the rules.
c. To shut out from view: a curtain blocking the stage.
d. To stop the passage of (a motion or bill) in a legislative assembly.
e. Sports To prevent or slow the movement of (an opponent) by using one's body, as by making a block in football.
f. Sports To stop or deflect (a ball or puck) by using one's body.
g. Medicine To interrupt or obstruct the functioning of (a physiological process), especially by the use of drugs.
h. Psychology To fail to remember.
2. To support, strengthen, or retain in place by means of a block.
3. To shape, mold, or form with or on a block: block a hat.
4. To indicate broadly without great detail; sketch. Often used with out: block out a plan of action; block out stage movements.
5. To run (trains) on a block system.
v.intr.
Phrasal Verb: 1. Sports
a. To obstruct the movement of an opponent by using one's body.
b. To stop or deflect a ball or puck by using one's body.
2. To suffer a mental block. Often used with on: I blocked on his name.
block out
Idioms: 1. To cover over so as to be illegible: block out sensitive information from a document before releasing it.
2. To repress (a traumatic event, for example) from conscious memory.
go on the block
To be offered for sale.
out of the blocks
From a starting position, as in a race or contest: The company has in the past been slow out of the blocks to adapt to consumer tastes.
put on the block
To offer for sale.
[Middle English blok, from Old French bloc, from Middle Dutch.]
block′er n.
Synonyms: block, hide1, obscure, obstruct, screen, shroud
These verbs mean to cut off from sight: a tree that blocked the view; a road hidden by brush; mist that obscured the mountain peak; skyscrapers obstructing the sky; a fence that screens the alley; a face shrouded by a heavy veil.
These verbs mean to cut off from sight: a tree that blocked the view; a road hidden by brush; mist that obscured the mountain peak; skyscrapers obstructing the sky; a fence that screens the alley; a face shrouded by a heavy veil.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
block out
vb (tr, adverb)
1. to plan or describe (something) in a general fashion
2. to prevent the entry or consideration of (something)
3. (Photography) photog printing to mask part of (a negative), in order that light may not pass through it
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Verb | 1. |  block out - plan where and when songs should be inserted into a theatrical production, or plan a theatrical production in generallay out - provide a detailed plan or design; "She laid out her plans for the new house" |
| 2. |  block out - prevent from entering; "block out the strong sunlight"obturate, occlude, close up, impede, obstruct, jam, block - block passage through; "obstruct the path" shade - protect from light, heat, or view; "Shade your eyes when you step out into the bright sunlight" | |
| 3. |  block out - shield from light photography, picture taking - the act of taking and printing photographs cover - provide with a covering or cause to be covered; "cover her face with a handkerchief"; "cover the child with a blanket"; "cover the grave with flowers" | |
| 4. |  block out - indicate roughly; "We sketched out our plan" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
block
noun1. Something that impedes or prevents entry or passage:
2. To plug up something, as a hole, space, or container:
block in or out
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
w>block out
vt sep
(= obscure) light → nicht durchlassen; sun also → verdecken; the trees are blocking out all the light → die Bäume nehmen das ganze Licht weg
(= obliterate) part of picture, photograph → wegretuschieren
(= ignore) pain, fact, past → verdrängen; noise (double glazing etc) → unterdrücken; (person) → ausblenden
(= sketch roughly) → andeuten
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007