blocks

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of block.

   Workers hauled the heavy concrete blocks onto the site.

   She walked four blocks before reaching the station.

   Note

   The plural is the regular one, formed with -s, and it carries every kind of block with it: concrete and wood, chopping blocks, wig blocks and hat moulds, the pulley housings of a ship's rigging. The same spelling is also the verb's present-tense form, so "the blocks" names objects while "she blocks" names an action. The word just before it usually settles which one you have.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of block.

   The new firewall blocks suspicious traffic before it reaches the server.

   She blocks the doorway with her arm to stop him from leaving.

   Note

   It is the form that agrees with he, she, it or any singular subject. Every use of the verb travels with it, from obstructing a passage to impeding an opponent's play or setting actors' positions in a scene. Because the verb is transitive, an object usually follows close behind: blocks the door, blocks a shot, blocks the second act. Without that object, it can be hard to tell apart from the noun plural.

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