1408 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1836) I. 347 Lego Petro meo apprenticio j chipax, j framour, j blokker, j twybyll.

1894 J. H. Wylie Hist. Eng. Henry IV II. l. 207 The sound of the chip-axe and blocker.

2022 L. Liddy in B. C. Kane & S. Sandall Experience of Neighbourhood in Medieval & Early Mod. Europe (e-book, accessed 11 June 2022) ix John Awstyn..left his apprentice a chip-axe, framer, blocker, [etc.].

1817 W. Tucker Family Dyer & Scourer iii. 81 Send them [sc. bonnets] to the blocker's to be blocked.

1827 Proc. Old Bailey 6 Dec. 56 I am in the employ of Mr. John Bann, shoemaker, of New Bond-street—the prisoner was in his employ—he was a blocker.

1866 London Rev. 27 Oct. 459/2 There are various epithets for shoemakers..there are welters..clickers, blockers, runners, &c.

1884 in Standard 4 Jan. 2/5 They were blockers, and had to remove the gold waste from the books..that were being gilt.

1885 W. J. E. Crane Bookbinding v. 44 While the blocker upholds the pile of books and boards steady and upright, an assistant lowers the ‘platen’ or ‘follower’ of the press.

1944 Decisions & Orders National Labor Relations Board (U.S.) 54 284 Barnett, who worked as a blocker in the finishing department [of Sewell Hats, Inc.], had injured his hand.

2021 E. Sorel Profusely Illustr. (e-book ed.) i One of the hat blockers came over and asked why I wasn't going out... And that blocker, Eddie, was your father.

1848 Fraser's Mag. Apr. 396/2 Forced to substitute a ‘blocker’ of meat, with its cheap accompaniment of bread and vegetables..for poultry and rump-steaks.

1872 Evening News (Sydney) 26 June The expected hearing of the Gulgong cases of trespass—frontage holders v. blockers.

1886 Evening Jrnl. (Adelaide) 5 June 7/5 Why should not a blocker dispose of a load of wood and thus counteract the continued drain on his scanty means while clearing?

1940 Northern Argus (Clare, S. Austral.) 27 Sept. 1/3 The place for the future should be called Gillentown, after the name of the senior member for Stanley, who was instrumental in getting the land for the blockers.

1968 J. Begley Block with One Holer 14 During late February and early March Bluey and Flo picked grapes for other blockers.

2013 P. M. Hoskins Immigrants 327 The constant dust-storms that poured through Stirling North every week were the bane of the farmers, the blockers and all residents in the area.

1910 Bolton Evening News 4 Oct. 4/1 It would be interesting to make a collection of the slang words used by Lancashire school-boys... The other day a ‘new’ teacher from another part of the country was puzzled by the information from one of his pupils that ‘his blocker was bazzed’, and it took him some time to discover that his bowler hat was dinted.

1934 J. Brophy Waterfront xi. 204 He'd worn one at the wedding, the first ‘blocker’ he'd ever had.

1940 J. Hanley Our Time is Gone (2009) ix. 422 Everything he had on was new. New blocker, new tie, new collar, new suit, even had gloves on, and his whiskers were shining.

1969 D. Griffiths Talk of my Town 13 Blocker, bowler hat.

1990 Crosby Herald 18 Jan. 18/1 In my schooldays any motor car seen entering the docks would have been occupied by what a docker would describe as a ‘blocker man’—a boss wearing a bowler hat.

1687 R. Wolley tr. N. Besongne Present State France (new ed.) i. xxiv. 207 Hawks called Blockers [Fr. des Oiseaux Bloqueurs], which are let fly as soon as the Partridges rise, and drive them full sweep to their hold, where they light upon a Branch, or on the top of a House, and where the Falconer goes and serves them with Dogs.

1881 North-Eastern Daily Gaz. 15 June 3/7 There was, he said, a time when a private member..might get a Bill through the House; but that was before the advent of the member for Bridport. Mr Warton was a ‘blocker’ of Bills.

1981 Financial Times 2 Apr. 29/6 The company views itself not so much as a blocker of agreements, but more as a crusader for common sense.

1986 R. Pattisson Tactics viii. 28/2 One very good time to tack is when another boat acts as a ‘blocker’ to leeward.

2021 Straits Times (Singapore) (Nexis) 8 Mar. Digitalisation is proving to be both a blocker and an enabler of prosperity.

1838 Northern Liberator 6 Oct. Amateurs consider..the club-men the best bowlers, wicket-keepers, and blockers.

1851 J. Pycroft Cricket Field vii. 114 One of the most awkward, poking, vexatious blockers that ever produced a counterfeit of cricket defied Bayley and Cobbett at Oxford in 1836,—three hours, and made five and thirty runs.

1902 Sevenoaks Chron. 20 June 8/3 A shower of rain, or a couple of stubborn ‘blockers’ can avert defeat and rob an infinitely superior team of all credit.

1956 Western Mail 18 May 4/7 In cricket the proverbial ‘poker’ and ‘blocker’ can stay at the wicket all day to drive the spectators mad with his go-slow tactics.

2018 Sunday Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 2 Dec. (Sport section) 8 His gut instinct is to score runs. He is not a blocker who just wants to occupy the crease.

1887 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 24 Nov. 2/5 He is as quick as a cat, a strong blocker, and uses his head every time he passes the ball.

1920 W. Camp Football without Coach ii. 35 On offense he must be a good, rugged blocker so that he can hold back the enemy while his quarter is getting the ball away.

1945 L. H. Baker Football xiv. 13 Much of the success of a team depends on the efficiency of its blockers.

1984 N.Y. Times 2 Jan. 31/1 Mark Schellen,..fullback, fills the twin roles of blocker and rusher.

2020 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 8 Nov. b2/2 The Buffalo transfer streaked behind blockers for a 54-yard house call.

1931 Amer. Jrnl. Physiol. 99 195 Contrary to the generally accepted view, nicotin does not seem to be an entirely trustworthy blocker of synapses.

1951 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 14 Apr. 777/1 Neither hexamethonium nor any other ganglion blocker is useful unless it is specific.

1976 Nature 22 July 307/2 Neither phentolamine..nor timolol, a specific blocker of beta-receptors..had any effect.

1988 Update 15 Oct. 754/2 Although withdrawal syndromes have been reported for a wide variety of antihypertensive agents, the major problems occur with clonidine (Catapres) and the adrenergic neurone blockers.

1995 Guardian 22 Aug. ii. 9/5 The blocker, ondansetron, combats nausea and vomiting caused by cancer therapy.

2018 A. Stein Unbound iv. 96 Some experts prescribe hormone blockers at an early age to stave off puberty.

1971 G. A. Walford Ice Hockey iii. 52 The protection for the blocking hand consists of a blocking pad..over the back of the hand holding the stick. Use of this blocker is often neglected by many goaltenders.

1990 W. Johnston Divine Ryans (1991) xvi. 211 I made a shield with my blocker and my goalie stick and ran, the pucks slithering beneath my skates.

2006 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 27 Feb. b4 (caption) Swedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvist throws his blocker into the air after Sweden defeated Finland, 3-2.

1996 Folio (Connecticut) 15 Oct. 27 (heading) Web-ad blockers don't scare publishers.

2003 Metro 14 Oct. (London ed.) 4/1 (advt.) PC Firewall... Parental controls... Junk mail filter... Pop-up blocker.

2005 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 21 Sept. c5/3 Many computer users consider such ads annoying and have installed blockers that screen out pop-unders and their counterparts, pop-up ads.

2015 Vancouver Sun 24 Sept. d4/6 Some websites are taking steps to reduce the annoyance so users won't turn to ad blockers.