square block
1
1.6
- noun
:
bloque cuadrado
- In river towns, square blocks tended not to have alleys, whereas rectangular blocks did.
- four square blocks
- square block area
Examples
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Each of the three white walls seen in the image above is made up of thousands of oblong square blocks.
Blog text (12) -
Oregon City, the oldest town in Oregon, was first platted with cross alleys within square blocks in the most vital "Lower Town."
Academic text (2006) -
The square block finally disappeared in Oregon around 1912, by which time the neoromantic curvilinear block had become established as the fashionable form.
Academic text (2006) -
But the newer rectangular block had two major advantages over the square block: reducing the overall proportion of the city area dedicated to public streets and therefore adding to land for private sale; and reducing the number of street intersections in which traffic could become clogged, especially once the automobile appeared.
Academic text (2006) -
The second most popular plat type, with seventeen cases, is identical to the first except that it is based on square blocks, with a similar longevity (1852-1910).
Academic text (2006) -
The artist built the sculpture using several large, colored square blocks of stone.
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The children played hopscotch on the pavement that was divided into square blocks.
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They constructed the garden path with square blocks made of concrete.
Synonyms
340
1.0
A solid piece of material used for building or play
130
1.0
A solid object with six equal square faces and right angles
A thing shaped like a square or a cube
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining the adjective 'square' (having four equal sides and right angles) with the noun 'block' (a solid unit), so it denotes a block that is square in shape. This adjective+noun compositional pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
The noun square block comes from builders and woodworkers who made a block with all sides square, meaning each side had the same length so it looked like a small cube. So square block now means 'a block shaped like a cube' used to build things or make models.