block
- noun
- /blɑk/
- Specialized
- The construction workers installed a block in the pulley system to lift heavy materials.
- fixed block
- a larger block
Examples
-
The sailor used a block to change the direction of the rope while hoisting the sail.
-
In the workshop, we need a block for the pulley to secure the load properly.
-
I mean, that block and tackle was in the back.
-
You gotta pull this around and hook it up to the block, okay?
-
Take this strap off the block for me, will you?
-
When that block reaches midway, you cut the line!
-
Hold on to your clews and blocks.
-
Think of the ancient engineers designing block and tackle systems or building an aqueduct.
Academic text (2003) -
Do you trust we've provided you with enough slack so your block will land safely on the lawn?
-
The cloth drops to reveal a bas-relief in brass set in a block of smooth limestone.
Fiction book (1996)
Synonyms
A wheel with a groove that a rope moves on to lift things or change the direction of a pull
A wheel with a groove for a rope that helps lift or move heavy things
A wheel with a groove that a rope runs in to lift things or change the rope's direction
A pulley that opens so you can place a rope inside without passing the end through
A small wheel used with a rope to help raise sails at the top of a ship's mast
Idioms
- Informal
A person who is very like one of their parents in looks or behaviour
Compounds
- Formal
Money given by a national government to local governments for a general purpose with few rules
- Specialized
A metal part of an engine that holds the cylinders and channels for cooling
- Specialized
The heart's signals stop partly or completely, causing slow, irregular beats and fainting
- Specialized
A simple picture showing the main parts of a system and how they connect
- Literature
A vote by a delegate that counts for the number of people they represent
- Specialized
A solid piece of metal in an engine that holds the cylinders where the pistons move and cooling passages
- Specialized
A heart problem when electrical signals between the upper and lower chambers are slow or stop causing fainting
- Specialized
An injection that numbs the nerves near the vagina to reduce pain during childbirth
- Specialized
A way to make part of the body numb by putting medicine near a nerve
An uppercase letter written clearly and not joined to other letters often used on forms
- Archaic
A small wheel used with a rope to help raise sails at the top of a ship's mast
- Specialized
An injection of pain medicine into the lower part of the spine to numb the lower body for surgery
- Specialized
A light concrete block used for building, made from waste from burned coal instead of stone
- Specialized
A small piece of felt that drops on a piano string to stop it from vibrating
- Specialized
A part of a disk where data cannot be read or written because it is damaged
- Specialized
A block in a blockchain that the network computers do not accept because it breaks the rules
- Specialized
A way to numb one body part by injecting medicine near a nerve
- Specialized
A wheel with a groove that a rope runs in to lift things or change the rope's direction
- Specialized
A method that numbs the area that would touch a saddle by injecting medicine near the spine
- Specialized
An injection of numbing medicine beside the cervix to reduce pain during childbirth
- Specialized
A metal block that supports a shaft so it can turn smoothly with a bearing inside
- Specialized
A tool with a sharp point on a stand that checks flat surfaces or marks lines on metal
- Specialized
A heavy iron block with holes and grooves that helps shape hot metal in a forge
- Jargon
In American football, an illegal action where a player hits another player from the side or behind
- Specialized
A pulley that opens so you can place a rope inside without passing the end through
Surface Forms
Etymology
Block for a pulley device comes from the same old word bloc for 'piece of wood', because early pulleys used a wooden block to hold the wheel that the rope runs through.