unblocking

1. 1
   noununcountable

   The act or process of removing an obstruction so that movement or flow can resume.

   The unblocking of the arteries required a delicate surgical procedure.

   Engineers oversaw the gradual unblocking of the flooded tunnel.

   Similarclearing, clearance

   Oppositeblocking, obstruction

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle of unblock.

   The plumber is unblocking the main sewer line this afternoon.

   Customer support is unblocking thousands of frozen accounts after the outage.

   Note

   The -ing form carries every use of the verb, from plumbing to card play. In whist, a player unblocking throws away a high card so a partner's long suit runs uninterrupted. On a phone or messaging app, unblocking someone restores contact. As a gerund it still takes a direct object (unblocking the drain helped). The noun for the process takes of instead and can be plural, unblockings.

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