BEM

Noun

block (plural blocks)

1. A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance.
   • a block of ice; a block of stone
   1. A chopping block: a cuboid base for cutting or beheading.
      • Anne Boleyn placed her head on the block and awaited her execution.
   2. A wig block: a simplified head model upon which wigs are worn.
      • Next morning, Monday, after disposing of the embalmed head to a barber, for a block, I settled my own and comrade’s bill; using, however, my comrade’s money.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 13”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC
   3. A mould on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped.
      • He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat; it ever changes with the next block.1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
   4. (dated) A piece of hard wood on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted.
   5. A case or frame housing one or more sheaves (pulleys), used with ropes to increase or redirect force, for example as part of lifting gear or a sailing ship's rigging. See also block and tackle.

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