commie block

8.9

A large plain apartment building from the communist era

noun

NSFW

: bloque comunista

My grandparents still live in a commie block on the outskirts of the city.

Examples

The new film features scenes set inside a dilapidated commie block.
The old commie block in the city center is now a cultural landmark.
Many immigrants were first housed in a commie block after arriving in the country.
Many families live in a commie block on the outskirts of town.
Many immigrants were first housed in a commie block after arriving in the country.
My grandparents still live in a commie block on the outskirts of the city.
The old commie block in the city center is now a cultural landmark.

Antonyms

luxury

322 4.2

A great comfort from expensive things or experiences that people do not need

How Functional

commie block

NSFW

8.9

barracks

2.3

tower block

1 3.5

apartment building

98 1.2

mansion

327 3.4

Surface Forms

commie block singular

commie blocks plural

Morphology

commie + block

The meaning is directly built from 'commie' (communist, here slang/derogatory) + 'block' (an apartment building), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it refers to a utilitarian apartment building associated with communism. Although colloquial and slightly pejorative, the composition is transparent and follows a straightforward noun+noun naming pattern familiar across languages.

Etymology

Commie block comes from the word commie, short for 'communist', and block, meaning a big apartment building. These were tall, grey concrete buildings made to house many people in communist countries, so the phrase now means 'a large, plain apartment building'.