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.