Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Block \Block\, n.
   1. In Australia, one of the large lots into which public
      land, when opened to settlers, is divided by the
      government surveyors.

   2. (Cricket)
      (a) The position of a player or bat when guarding the
          wicket.
      (b) A block hole.
      (c) The popping crease. [R.]

   {Back blocks}, Australian pastoral country which is remote
      from the seacoast or from a river.

Block \Block\, n. [OE. blok; cf. F. bloc (fr. OHG.), D. & Dan.
   blok, Sw. & G. block, OHG. bloch. There is also an OHG.
   bloch, biloh; bi by + the same root as that of E. lock. Cf.
   {Block}, v. t., {Blockade}, and see {Lock}.]
   1. A piece of wood more or less bulky; a solid mass of wood,
      stone, etc., usually with one or more plane, or
      approximately plane, faces; as, a block on which a butcher
      chops his meat; a block by which to mount a horse;
      children's playing blocks, etc.

            Now all our neighbors' chimneys smoke, And Christmas
            blocks are burning.                   --Wither.

            All her labor was but as a block Left in the quarry.
                                                  --Tennyson.

   2. The solid piece of wood on which condemned persons lay
      their necks when they are beheaded.

            Noble heads which have been brought to the block.
                                                  --E. Everett.

   3. The wooden mold on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped.
      Hence: The pattern or shape of a hat.

            He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat; it
            ever changes with the next block.     --Shak.

   4. A large or long building divided into separate houses or
      shops, or a number of houses or shops built in contact
      with each other so as to form one building; a row of
      houses or shops.

   5. A square, or portion of a city inclosed by streets,
      whether occupied by buildings or not.

            The new city was laid out in rectangular blocks,
            each block containing thirty building lots. Such an
            average block, comprising 282 houses and covering
            nine acres of ground, exists in Oxford Street.
                                                  --Lond. Quart.
                                                  Rev.

   6. A grooved pulley or sheave incased in a frame or shell
      which is provided with a hook, eye, or strap, by which it
      may be attached to an object. It is used to change the
      direction of motion, as in raising a heavy object that can
      not be conveniently reached, and also, when two or more
      such sheaves are compounded, to change the rate of motion,
      or to exert increased force; -- used especially in the
      rigging of ships, and in tackles.

   7. (Falconry) The perch on which a bird of prey is kept.

   8. Any obstruction, or cause of obstruction; a stop; a
      hindrance; an obstacle; as, a block in the way.

   9. A piece of box or other wood for engravers' work.

   10. (Print.) A piece of hard wood (as mahogany or cherry) on
       which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted to
       make it type high.

   11. A blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt. [Obs.]

             What a block art thou !              --Shak.

   12. A section of a railroad where the block system is used.
       See {Block system}, below.

   {A block of shares} (Stock Exchange), a large number of
      shares in a stock company, sold in a lump. --Bartlett.

   {Block printing}.
       (a) A mode of printing (common in China and Japan) from
           engraved boards by means of a sheet of paper laid on
           the linked surface and rubbed with a brush. --S. W.
           Williams.
       (b) A method of printing cotton cloth and paper hangings
           with colors, by pressing them upon an engraved
           surface coated with coloring matter.

   {Block system} on railways, a system by which the track is
      divided into sections of three or four miles, and trains
      are so run by the guidance of electric signals that no
      train enters a section or block before the preceding train
      has left it.

Block \Block\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Blocked}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Blocking}.] [Cf. F. bloquer, fr. bloc block. See {Block},
   n.]
   1. To obstruct so as to prevent passage or progress; to
      prevent passage from, through, or into, by obstructing the
      way; -- used both of persons and things; -- often followed
      by up; as, to block up a road or harbor.

            With moles . . . would block the port. --Rowe.

            A city . . . besieged and blocked about. --Milton.

   2. To secure or support by means of blocks; to secure, as two
      boards at their angles of intersection, by pieces of wood
      glued to each.

   3. To shape on, or stamp with, a block; as, to block a hat.

   {To block out}, to begin to reduce to shape; to mark out
      roughly; to lay out; as, to block out a plan.

Source : WordNet®

block
     v 1: render unsuitable for passage; "block the way"; "barricade
          the streets"; "stop the busy road" [syn: {barricade}, {blockade},
           {stop}, {block off}, {block up}, {bar}]
     2: hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of; "His
        brother blocked him at every turn" [syn: {obstruct}, {blockade},
         {hinder}, {stymie}, {stymy}, {embarrass}]
     3: stop from happening or developing; "Block his election";
        "Halt the process" [syn: {stop}, {halt}, {kibosh}]
     4: interfere with or prevent the reception of signals; "Jam the
        Voice of America"; "block the signals emitted by this
        station" [syn: {jam}]
     5: run on a block system; "block trains"
     6: interrupt the normal function of by means of anesthesia;
        "block a nerve"; "block a muscle"
     7: shut out from view or get in the way so as to hide from
        sight; "The thick curtain blocked the action on the
        stage"; "The trees obstruct my view of the mountains"
        [syn: {obstruct}]
     8: stamp or emboss a title or design on a book with a block;
        "block the book cover"
     9: obstruct; "My nose is all stuffed"; "Her arteries are
        blocked" [syn: {stuff}, {lug}, {choke up}] [ant: {unstuff}]
     10: block passage through; "obstruct the path" [syn: {obstruct},
          {obturate}, {impede}, {occlude}, {jam}, {close up}]
         [ant: {free}]
     11: support, secure, or raise with a block; "block a plate for
         printing"; "block the wheels of a car"
     12: impede the movement of (an opponent or a ball); "block an
         attack" [syn: {parry}, {deflect}]
     13: be unable to remember; "I'm drawing a blank"; "You are
         blocking the name of your first wife!" [syn: {forget}, {blank
         out}, {draw a blank}] [ant: {remember}]
     14: shape by using a block; "Block a hat"; "block a garment"
     15: shape into a block or blocks; "block the graphs so one can
         see the results clearly"
     16: prohibit the conversion or use of (assets); "Blocked funds";
         "Freeze the assets of this hostile government" [syn: {freeze},
          {immobilize}, {immobilise}] [ant: {unblock}, {unblock}]

block
     n 1: a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular
          sides); "the pyramids were built with large stone
          blocks"
     2: a rectangular area in a city surrounded by streets and
        usually containing several buildings; "he lives in the
        next block" [syn: {city block}]
     3: a three-dimensional shape with six square or rectangular
        sides [syn: {cube}]
     4: a number or quantity of related things dealt with as a unit;
        "he reserved a large block of seats"; "he held a large
        block of the company's stock"
     5: housing in a large building that is divided into separate
        units; "there is a block of classrooms in the west wing"
     6: (computer science) a sector or group of sectors that
        function as the smallest data unit permitted; "since
        blocks are often defined as a single sector, the terms
        `block' and `sector' are sometimes used interchangeably"
     7: an inability to remember or think of something you normally
        can do; often caused by emotional tension; "I knew his
        name perfectly well but I had a temporary block" [syn: {mental
        block}]
     8: a simple machine consisting of a wheel with a groove in
        which a rope can run to change the direction or point of
        application of a force applied to the rope [syn: {pulley},
         {pulley-block}]
     9: a metal casting containing the cylinders and cooling ducts
        of an engine; "the engine had to be replaced because the
        block was cracked" [syn: {engine block}, {cylinder block}]
     10: an obstruction in a pipe or tube; "we had to call a plumber
         to clear out the blockage in the drainpipe" [syn: {blockage},
          {closure}, {occlusion}, {stop}, {stoppage}]
     11: a platform from which an auctioneer sells; "they put their
         paintings on the block" [syn: {auction block}]
     12: (American football) the act of obstructing someone's path
         with your body; "he threw a rolling block into the line
         backer" [syn: {blocking}, {interference}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

block
     
        1.  A unit of data or memory, often, but not
        exclusively, on a {magnetic disk} or {magnetic tape}.
     
        Compare {record}, {sector}.
     
        2.  To delay or sit idle while waiting for
        something.
     
        Compare {busy-wait}.
     
        (2000-07-17)