·add. ·noun A block hole.
II. Block ·vt The pattern or shape of a hat.
III. Block ·add. ·noun The popping crease.
IV. Block ·vt A blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt.
V. Block ·vt The perch on which a bird of prey is kept.
VI. Block ·vt A piece of box or other wood for engravers' work.
VII. Block ·noun To shape on, or stamp with, a block; as, to block a hat.
VIII. Block ·vt The wooden mold on which hats, bonnets, ·etc., are shaped.
IX. Block ·add. ·noun The position of a player or bat when guarding the wicket.
X. Block ·vt A section of a railroad where the block system is used. ·see Block system, below.
XI. Block ·vt A square, or portion of a city inclosed by streets, whether occupied by buildings or not.
XII. Block ·vt The solid piece of wood on which condemned persons lay their necks when they are beheaded.
XIII. Block ·vt Any obstruction, or cause of obstruction; a stop; a hindrance; an obstacle; as, a block in the way.
XIV. Block ·vt A piece of hard wood (as mahogany or cherry) on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted to make it type high.
XV. Block ·noun 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.
XVI. Block ·add. ·noun In Australia, one of the large lots into which public land, when opened to settlers, is divided by the government surveyors.
XVII. Block ·vt 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.
XVIII. Block ·noun 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.
XIX. Block ·vt 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.
XX. Block ·vt 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.