NYT Dictionary

BLOCK

/blɑk/
NounVerbBLAHKGrade 5

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

Meaning

A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance.

Etymology

Origin: Old English

From Middle English blok (“log, stump, solid piece”), from Old French bloc (“log, block”), from Middle Dutch blok (“treetrunk”), from Old Dutch *blok (“log”), from Proto-West Germanic *blokk, from Proto-Germanic *blukką (“beam, log”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ- (“thick plank, beam, pile, prop”). Cognate with Old Frisian blok, Old Saxon blok, Old High German bloh, bloc (“block”), Old English bolca (“gangway of a ship, plank”), Old Norse bǫlkr (“divider, partition”). More at balk. See also bloc, bulk.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

pulley blockcity blockbarrierblockageobstructionstuffroofwallnuclear blockbean

Antonyms

NYT Puzzle Appearances

Accepted in 6 recorded puzzles:

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