Block vs Break - What's the difference?
block | break |
A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance.
*
A group of urban lots of property, several acres in extent, not crossed by public streets.
A residential building consisting of flats.
* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham)
, title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=Foreword The distance from one street to another in a city that is built (approximately) to a grid pattern.
(slang) The human head.
A wig block: a simplified head model upon which wigs are worn.
* 1851 , (Herman Melville), (Moby Dick) ,
A mould on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped.
* Shakespeare
A set of sheets (of paper) joined together at one end.
(computing) A logical data storage unit containing one or more physical sectors (see cluster).
(computing) A region of code in a program that acts as a single unit, such as a function or loop.
(cryptography) A fixed-length group of bits making up part of a message.
(rigging) A case with one or more sheaves/pulleys, used with ropes to increase or redirect force, for example, as part of the rigging of a sailing ship.
(chemistry) A portion of a macromolecule, comprising many units, that has at least one feature not present in adjacent portions.
Something that prevents something from passing (see blockage).
(sports) An action to interfere with the movement of an opposing player or of the object of play (ball, puck).
* {{quote-news, year=2011
, date=February 12
, author=Oliver Brett
, title=Sunderland 1–2 Tottenham
, work=BBC
(cricket) A shot played by holding the bat vertically in the path of the ball, so that it loses momentum and drops to the ground.
(volleyball) A defensive play by one or more players meant to deflect a spiked ball back to the hitter’s court.
(philately) A joined group of four (or in some cases nine) postage stamps, forming a roughly square shape.
A section of split logs used as fuel.
(UK) Solitary confinement.
A cellblock.
(falconry) The perch on which a bird of prey is kept.
(printing, dated) A piece of hard wood on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted.
(obsolete) A blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt.
* Shakespeare
A section of a railroad where the block system is used.
To fill (something) so that it is not possible to pass.
To prevent (something or someone) from passing.
To prevent (something from happening or someone from doing something).
(sports) To impede an opponent.
(theater) To specify the positions and movements of the actors.
(cricket) To hit with a block.
(cricket) To play a block shot.
To disable communication via telephone, instant messaging, etc., with an undesirable someone.
(computing) To wait.
To stretch or mould (a knitted item, a hat, etc.) into the desired shape.
(intransitive) To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly.
# (intransitive) To crack or fracture (bone) under a physical strain.
(US) To divide (something, often money) into smaller units.
To cause (a person) to lose his or her spirit or will; to crush the spirits of; to ruin (a person) emotionally.
* Shakespeare
To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief.
To cause (a person or animal) to lose its will.
To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate.
* Shakespeare
To ruin financially.
* Dryden
To violate, to not adhere to.
* Milton
(of a fever) To pass the most dangerous part of the illness; to go down, temperaturewise.
To design or use a powerful (yet legal) strategy that unbalances the game in a player's favor.
(intransitive) To stop, or to cause to stop, functioning properly or altogether.
# To cause (some feature of a program or piece of software) to stop functioning properly; to cause a regression.
To cause (a barrier) to no longer bar.
# (specifically) To cause the shell of (an egg) to crack, so that the inside (yolk) is accessible.
# (specifically) To open (a safe) without using the correct key, combination or the like.
(of a wave of water) To collapse into surf, after arriving in shallow water.
To end.
To burst forth; to make its way; to come into view.
* Shakespeare
* Wordsworth
To interrupt or cease one's work or occupation temporarily.
To interrupt (a fall) by inserting something so that the falling object not hit something else beneath.
(ergative) To disclose or make known an item of news, etc.
(of morning) To arrive.
* Shakespeare
(of a sound) To become audible suddenly.
* , The Battle-Day of Germantown'', reprinted in ''Washington and His Generals "1776" , page 45 [http://google.com/books?id=EM-qNjWrI9YC&pg=PA45&dq=%22sound+of+musquetry%22]:
To change a steady state abruptly.
(copulative, informal) To suddenly become.
Of a voice, to alter in type: in men generally to go up, in women sometimes to go down; to crack.
To surpass or do better than (a specific number), to do better than (a record), setting a new record.
(sports, and, games):
# (tennis) To win a game (against one's opponent) as receiver.
#* {{quote-news, year=2012
, date=June 28
, author=Jamie Jackson
, title=Wimbledon 2012: Lukas Rosol shocked by miracle win over Rafael Nadal
, work=the Guardian
# (intransitive, billiards, snooker, pool) To make the first shot; to scatter the balls from the initial neat arrangement.
# (backgammon) To remove one of the two men on (a point).
To demote, to reduce the military rank of.
* 1953 February 9, “
* 1968 , , Back Bay (2003), ISBN 978-0-316-52940-2,
* 2006 , , Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty , Second Edition, Artisan Books, ISBN 978-1-57965-314-9,
To end (a connection), to disconnect.
(of an emulsion) To demulsify.
* '>citation
* '>citation
(sports) To counter-attack
* {{quote-news, year=2010
, date=December 28
, author=Kevin Darlin
, title=West Brom 1 - 3 Blackburn
, work=BBC
(obsolete) To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.
* Shakespeare
To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength.
* Jonathan Swift
(obsolete) To fail in business; to become bankrupt.
* Francis Bacon
To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce.
To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of.
To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.
* Jonathan Swift
To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait.
(archaic) To fall out; to terminate friendship.
* Collier
An instance of breaking something into two pieces.
A physical space that opens up in something or between two things.
(music) A short section of music, often between verses, in which some performers stop while others continue.
A rest or pause, usually from work; a breaktime.
A temporary split (with a romantic partner).
An interval or intermission between two parts of a performance, for example a theatre show, broadcast, or sports game.
* {{quote-news, year=2010
, date=December 29
, author=Chris Whyatt
, title=Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton
, work=BBC
A significant change in circumstance, attitude, perception, or focus of attention: big break, lucky break, bad break.
(British, weather) a change; the end of a spell of persistent good or bad weather
The beginning (of the morning).
An act of escaping.
(surfing) A place where waves break (that is, where waves pitch or spill forward creating white water).
:
# (tennis) A game won by the receiving player(s).
# (billiards, snooker, pool) The first shot in a game of billiards
# (snooker) The number of points scored by one player in one visit to the table
# (soccer) The counter-attack
#* {{quote-news, year=2010
, date=December 28
, author=Owen Phillips
, title=Sunderland 0 - 2 Blackpool
, work=BBC
(dated) A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind.
A sharp bit or snaffle.
* Gascoigne
In lang=en terms the difference between block and break
is that block is the human head while break is a large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind.In obsolete terms the difference between block and break
is that block is a blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt while break is to lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.In transitive terms the difference between block and break
is that block is to stretch or mould (a knitted item, a hat, etc.) into the desired shape while break is to end (a connection), to disconnect.block
English
(wikipedia block)Noun
(en noun)- You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year.
- A block of ice.
- A block of stone.
- Anne Boleyn placed her head on the block and awaited her execution.
- I'm going for a walk around the block .
citation, passage=He turned back to the scene before him and the enormous new block' of council dwellings. The design was some way after Corbusier but the ' block was built up on plinths and resembled an Atlantic liner swimming diagonally across the site.}}
- A block of flats.
- The place you are looking for is two long blocks''' east and one short '''block north.
- I'll knock your block off.
- 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.
- He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat; it ever changes with the next block .
- A block of 100 tickets.
- There's a block in the pipe that means the water can't get through.
citation, page= , passage=The match proved an unedifying spectacle until Spurs won a corner following their first move of real quality, John Mensah making an important block with Jermain Defoe poised to strike. }}
- What a block art thou!
Synonyms
* See also * city blockDerived terms
; cuboid * * * * ; group of buildings * * * * * ; computing * ; distance * ; cutting base * * ; prevent passage * * * * * * ; rigging * * ; human head * * * ; volleyball * * * ; miscellaneous * * * * *Synonyms
* (volleyball) stuff, roof, wallVerb
(en verb)- The pipe is blocked .
- You're blocking the road – I can't get through.
- His plan to take over the business was blocked by the boss.
- He blocked the basketball player's shot.
- The offensive linemen tried to block the blitz.
- It was very difficult to block this scene convincingly.
- I tried to send you a message, but you've blocked me!
- When the condition expression is false, the thread blocks on the condition variable.
- I blocked the mittens by wetting them and pinning them to a shaped piece of cardboard.
break
English
(wikipedia break)Verb
- If the vase falls to the floor, it might break .
- She broke the vase.
- His ribs broke under the weight of the rocks piled on his chest.
- She broke his neck.
- He slipped on the ice and broke his leg.
- ''Can you break a hundred-dollar bill for me?
- The wholesaler broke the container loads into palettes and boxes for local retailers.
- Her child's death broke Angela.
- Interrogators have used many forms of torture to break prisoners of war.
- an old man, broken with the storms of state
- My heart is breaking .
- You have to break an elephant before you can use it as an animal of burden.
- The interrogator hoped to break her to get her testimony against her accomplices.
- I've got to break this habit I have of biting my nails.
- to break''' silence; to '''break''' one's sleep; to '''break one's journey
- I had won four games in a row, but now you've broken my streak of luck.
- Go, release them, Ariel; / My charms I'll break , their senses I'll restore.
- The recession broke some small businesses.
- With arts like these rich Matho, when he speaks, / Attracts all fees, and little lawyers breaks .
- When you go to Vancouver, promise me you won't break the law.
- He broke his vows by cheating on his wife.
- break one's word
- Time travel would break'' the laws of physics.
- Out, out, hyena! these are thy wonted arts / To break all faith, all vows, deceive, betray.
- Susan's fever broke at about 3 AM, and the doctor said the worst was over.
- Letting white have three extra queens would break chess.
- On the hottest day of the year the refrigerator broke .
- Did you two break the trolley by racing with it?
- Adding 64-bit support broke backward compatibility with earlier versions.
- break a seal
- The forecast says the hot weather will break by midweek.
- The clouds are still above; and, while I speak, / A second deluge o'er our head may break .
- And from the turf a fountain broke , / And gurgled at our feet.
- Let's break for lunch.
- He survived the jump out the window because the bushes below broke his fall.
- The newsman wanted to break a big story, something that would make him famous.
- I don't know how to break this to you, but your cat is not coming back.
- In the latest breaking news...
- When news of their divorce broke , ...
- Morning has broken .
- The day begins to break , and night is fled.
- Like the crash of thunderbolts.
- His coughing broke the silence.
- His turning on the lights broke the enchantment.
- With the mood broken , what we had been doing seemed pretty silly.
- Things began breaking bad for him when his parents died.
- The arrest was standard, when suddenly the suspect broke ugly.
- His voice breaks when he gets emotional.
- He broke the men's 100-meter record.
- I can't believe she broke 3 under par!
- The policeman broke sixty on a residential street in his hurry to catch the thief.
- He needs to break serve to win the match.
citation, page= , passage=Yet when play restarted the Czech was a train that kept on running over Nadal. After breaking Nadal in the opening game of the final set, he went 2-0 up and later took the count to 4-2 with yet another emphatic ace – one of his 22 throughout.}}
- Is it your or my turn to break ?
Books: First Rulers of Asia”, in Time :
- And he played no favorites: when his son-in-law sacked a city he had been told to spare, Genghis broke him to private.
page 215:
- One morning after the budget had failed to balance Finanzminister von Scholz picked up Der Reichsanzeiger and found he had been broken to sergeant.
page 42:
- Not long after this event, Clausen became involved in another disciplinary situation and was broken to private—the only one to win the Medal of Honor in Vietnam.
- The referee ordered the boxers to break the clinch.
- The referee broke the boxers' clinch.
- I couldn't hear a thing he was saying, so I broke the connection and called him back.
citation, page= , passage=The Baggies almost hit back instantly when Graham Dorrans broke from midfield and pulled the trigger from 15 yards but Paul Robinson did superbly to tip the Scot's drive around the post. }}
- Katharine, break thy mind to me.
- See how the dean begins to break ; / Poor gentleman he droops apace.
- He that puts all upon adventures doth oftentimes break , and come to poverty.
- The cavalry were not able to break the British squares.
- to break flax
- I see a great officer broken .
- to break into a run or gallop
- To break upon the score of danger or expense is to be mean and narrow-spirited.
Quotations
* (English Citations of "break")Usage notes
The sense relating to a spell of weather is most likely to be used after a period of persistent good or bad weather; it is rarely used to signify the end of short-lived conditions. In colloquial use, the past participle is sometimes 'broke' instead of 'broken,' as in the expression "."Synonyms
* burst, bust, shatter, shear, smash, split * crack, fracture * subject, tame * contravene, go against, violate * break down, bust, fail, go down (of a computer or computer network)Antonyms
* assemble, fix, join, mend, put together, repair * holdDerived terms
* breakage * break a leg * break apart * break away * break bad * break bread * break down * breaker * break even * break in * break into * break loose * break new ground * break off * break one's fast * break open * break out * break rank * break someone's heart * break stride * break the ice * break through * break up * break wind * icebreaker * make-or-break * outbreak * be on a breakSee also
* breaking * broke * brokenNoun
(en noun)- The femur has a clean break and so should heal easily.
- The sun came out in a break in the clouds.
- He waited minutes for a break in the traffic to cross the highway.
- The fiddle break was amazing; it was a pity the singer came back in on the wrong note.
- Let’s take a five-minute break .
- I think we need a break.
citation, page= , passage=But they marginally improved after the break as Didier Drogba hit the post. }}
- daybreak
- at the break of day
- make a break for it
- make a break for the door
- It was a clean break .
- prison break
- The final break in the Greenmount area is Kirra Point.
citation, page= , passage=Blackpool were not without their opportunities - thanks to their willingness to commit and leave men forward even when under severe pressure - and they looked very capable of scoring on the break . }}
- Pampered jades which need nor break nor bit.