different between block vs pack

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /bl?k/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /bl?k/
• Rhymes: -?k
• Homophone: bloc

Etymology 1

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 *blukk? (“beam, log”), from Proto-Indo-European *b?el?- (“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 b?lkr (“divider, partition”). More at balk. See also bloc.

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.

      • 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.

   2. A wig block: a simplified head model upon which wigs are worn.
      • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, chapter 13

        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.

   3. A mould on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped.
   4. (printing, 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.
   6. A section of split logs used as fuel.
      • 1833, The Gospel Anchor (volume 2, page 371)

        She said, 'I hope I shall not be left to kill myself, but It would be no more sin to kill me, than to put a block on the fire.'

      • 2012, Ron Herrett, Shorty's Story

        Dawn and Shorty would cut this tree into blocks, while Randy and Matt went back for more. Dawn and Shorty made a good team on the crosscut, so when another log arrived, the first was almost completely made into shake wood.

   7. A set of sheets (of paper) joined together at one end, forming a cuboid shape.

      a block of 100 tickets

   8. (falconry) The perch on which a bird of prey is kept.
2. A physical area or extent of something, often rectangular or approximately rectangular.

   a block of text, a block of colour, a block of land

   1. (philately) A joined group of four (or in some cases nine) postage stamps, forming a roughly square shape.
   2. (viticulture) A discrete group of vines in a vineyard, often distinguished from others by variety, clone, canopy training method, irrigation infrastructure, or some combination thereof.
3. A logical extent or region; a grouping or apportionment of like things treated together as a unit.

   a block of data, a block of seven days, a block reservation

   1. (computing) A logical data storage unit containing one or more physical sectors (see cluster).
   2. (programming) A region of code in a program that acts as a single unit, such as a function or loop.
   3. (cryptography) A fixed-length group of bits making up part of a message.
   4. (chemistry) A portion of a macromolecule, comprising many units, that has at least one feature not present in adjacent portions.
   5. (rail transport) A section of a railroad where the block system is used.
   6. (computing) A contiguous range of Unicode code points used to encode characters of a specific type; can be of any size evenly divisible by 16, up to 65,536 (a full plane).

4. A contiguous group of urban lots of property, typically several acres in extent, not crossed by public streets.

   I'm going for a walk around the block.

   1. The distance from one street to another in a city or suburb that is built (approximately) to a grid pattern.

      The place you are looking for is two long blocks east and one short block north.
5. A large, roughly cuboid building.

   a block of flats, an office block, a tower block

   1. A cellblock.
6. Something that prevents something from passing.

   Synonyms: barrier, blockage, obstruction

   There's a block in the pipe that means the water can't get through.

   1. Interference or obstruction of cognitive processes.

      a mental block

      writer's block

   2. (sports) An action to interfere with the movement of an opposing player or of the object of play (ball, puck).
      1. (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.
      2. (cricket) The position of a player or bat when guarding the wicket.
      3. (cricket) A blockhole.
      4. (cricket) The popping crease.
      5. (volleyball) A defensive play by one or more players meant to deflect a spiked ball back to the hitter’s court.

      Synonyms: stuff, roof, wall

   3. (Wiktionary and WMF jargon) A type of temporary or permanent ban which automatically prevents the blocked user from editing pages of a particular wiki.

7. (slang) The human head.

   I'll knock your block off!

8. (Britain) Solitary confinement.
9. (obsolete) A blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:head
• city block

Related terms

• bloc

Derived terms

Descendants

Translations

Verb

block (third-person singular simple present blocks, present participle blocking, simple past and past participle blocked)

1. (transitive) To fill or obstruct (something) so that it is not possible to pass.

   The pipe is blocked.
2. (transitive) To prevent (something or someone) from passing.

   A broken-down car is blocking the traffic.

3. (transitive) To prevent (something from happening or someone from doing something).

   His plan to take over the business was blocked by the boss.

4. (transitive, sports) To impede (an opponent or opponent's play).

   He blocked the basketball player's shot.

   The offensive linemen tried to block the blitz.

5. (transitive, theater) To specify the positions and movements of the actors for (a section of a play).

   It was very difficult to block this scene convincingly.

6. (transitive, cricket) To hit with a block.
7. (intransitive, cricket) To play a block shot.
8. (transitive) To disable communication via telephone, instant messaging, etc. with (someone undesirable).

   I tried to send you a message, but you've blocked me!

9. (Wiktionary and WMF jargon, transitive) To place, on a user of a wiki, a type of temporary or permanent ban which automatically prevents the recipient from editing pages of the wiki.

10. (computing, intransitive) To wait.

    When the condition expression is false, the thread blocks on the condition variable.

11. (transitive) To stretch or mould (a knitted item, a hat, etc.) into the desired shape.

    I blocked the mittens by wetting them and pinning them to a shaped piece of cardboard.

12. (transitive) To shape or sketch out roughly.

    When drawing a scene, first block the main features, and then fill in the detail.

13. (transitive, slang, obsolete) To knock (a person's hat) down over their eyes.

    Synonym: bonnet

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

block

1. Misspelling of bloc.

Manx

Etymology

Borrowed from English block.

Noun

block m (genitive singular bluick)

1. block, log, cake (of soap)

Derived terms

• block-lettyr

Mutation

Spanish

Etymology

From English block. Doublet of bloc and bloque.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?blok/, [?blok]

Noun

block m (plural blocks)

1. (Guatemala) cement block

   Synonym: bloque de cemento

Swedish

Etymology

From Middle Low German block, from Old Saxon blok, from Proto-West Germanic *blokk, from Proto-Germanic *blukk?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?bl?k/

Noun

block n

1. a block, a boulder, a cuboid (of ice, wood, rock)
2. a block, a pad, a notebook
3. a block, a pulley
4. a block, a piece of data storage
5. a bloc (of voters or countries)

Declension

Related terms

• anteckningsblock
• blädderblock
• blockad
• blockbaserad
• blockera
• blockstorlek
• diskblock
• flyttblock
• isblock
• skrivblock
• stenblock

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pæk/, [p?æk]
• Rhymes: -æk

Etymology 1

From Middle English pak, pakke, from Old English pæcca and/or Middle Dutch pak, packe; both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *pakkô (“bundle, pack”). Cognate with Dutch pak (“pack”), Low German Pack (“pack”), German Pack (“pack”), Swedish packe (“pack”), Icelandic pakka, pakki (“package”).

Noun

pack (plural packs)

1. A bundle made up and prepared to be carried; especially, a bundle to be carried on the back, but also a load for an animal, a bale.

2. A number or quantity equal to the contents of a pack
3. A multitude.

4. A number or quantity of connected or similar things; a collective.
5. A full set of playing cards

6. The assortment of playing cards used in a particular game.

7. A group of hounds or dogs, hunting or kept together.
   • 2005, John D. Skinner and Christian T. Chimimba, The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion

     African wild dogs hunt by sight, although stragglers use their noses to follow the pack.

8. A wolfpack: a number of wolves, hunting together.
9. A group of people associated or leagued in a bad design or practice; a gang.
10. A group of Cub Scouts.
11. A shook of cask staves.
12. A bundle of sheet iron plates for rolling simultaneously.
13. A large area of floating pieces of ice driven together more or less closely.

14. (medicine) An envelope, or wrapping, of sheets used in hydropathic practice, called dry pack, wet pack, cold pack, etc., according to the method of treatment.
15. (slang): A loose, lewd, or worthless person.
16. (snooker, pool) A tight group of object balls in cue sports. Usually the reds in snooker.
17. (rugby) The forwards in a rugby team (eight in Rugby Union, six in Rugby League) who with the opposing pack constitute the scrum.

Synonyms

(full set of cards): deck

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English pakken, from the noun (see above). Compare Middle Dutch packen (“to pack”), Middle Low German packen (“to pack”).

Verb

pack (third-person singular simple present packs, present participle packing, simple past and past participle packed)

1. (physical) To put or bring things together in a limited or confined space, especially for storage or transport.
   1. (transitive) To make a pack of; to arrange closely and securely in a pack; hence, to place and arrange compactly as in a pack
      • 1712, Joseph Addison, The Spectator Number 275

        strange materials wound up in that shape and texture, and packed together with wonderful art in the several cavities of the skull
   2. (transitive) To fill in the manner of a pack, that is, compactly and securely, as for transportation; hence, to fill closely or to repletion; to stow away within; to cause to be full; to crowd into.
   3. (transitive) To wrap in a wet or dry sheet, within numerous coverings.

   4. (transitive) To make impervious, such as by filling or surrounding with suitable material, or to fit or adjust so as to move without allowing air, water, or steam inside.

   5. (intransitive) To make up packs, bales, or bundles; to stow articles securely for transportation.
   6. (intransitive) To form a compact mass, especially in order for transportation.

   7. (intransitive, of animals) To gather together in flocks, herds, schools or similar groups of animals.

   8. (transitive, historical) To combine (telegraph messages) in order to send them more cheaply as a single transmission.
2. (social) To cheat.
   1. (transitive, card games) To sort and arrange (the cards) in the pack to give oneself an unfair advantage
      • 1733 Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man

        Mighty dukes pack cards for half a crown.

   2. (transitive) To bring together or make up unfairly, in order to secure a certain result.
      • 1687, Francis Atterbury, An answer to some considerations on the spirit of Martin Luther and the original of the Reformation

        The expected council was dwindling into […] a packed assembly of Italian bishops.

   3. (transitive) To contrive unfairly or fraudulently; to plot.
      • 1655, Thomas Fuller, The church-history of Britain

        He lost life […] upon a nice point subtilely devised and packed by his enemies.

   4. (intransitive) To put together for morally wrong purposes; to join in cahoots.
3. (transitive) To load with a pack

4. (transitive, figuratively) to load; to encumber.
5. To move, send or carry.
   1. (transitive) To cause to go; to send away with baggage or belongings; especially, to send away peremptorily or suddenly; – sometimes with off. See pack off.
   2. (transitive, US, chiefly Western US) To transport in a pack, or in the manner of a pack (on the backs of men or animals).
   3. (intransitive) To depart in haste; – generally with off or away.
      • 1723, Jonathan Swift, Stella at Wood-Park:

        Poor Stella must pack off to town.

      • 1842, Alfred Tennyson, Dora:

        You shall pack, / And never more darken my doors again.

   4. (transitive, slang) To carry weapons, especially firearms, on one's person.

6. (transitive, sports, slang) To block a shot, especially in basketball.
7. (intransitive, rugby, of the forwards in a rugby team) To play together cohesively, specially with reference to their technique in the scrum.
8. (intransitive, LGBT, of a drag king, trans man, etc.) To wear a prosthetic penis inside one’s trousers for better verisimilitude.

Synonyms

• (To sort and arrange (the cards) in a pack so as to secure the game unfairly): stack

Antonyms

• (make into a pack): unpack

Derived terms

Translations

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pak/

Noun

pack m (plural packs)

1. pack (item of packaging)
2. pack ice
3. (sports) A rugby team

Middle English

Noun

pack

1. Alternative form of pak

Scots

Adjective

pack

1. intimate; confidential

Spanish

Etymology

From English pack.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pak/, [?pak]

Noun

pack m (plural packs)

1. pack, package
2. kit, set, bundle
3. (colloquial, euphemistic) sexual photos and videos, paid or not, sent over internet, network social; sexting photos

Swedish

Noun

pack n

1. a group of unwanted people, lower class people, trash
2. stuff, things, luggage; only in the expression pick och pack

Declension

See also

• packa
• paket

Descendants

• ? Finnish: pakka