1The action or fact of blocking or obstructing someone or something.

1. 1.1 Obstructing or impeding the actions of an opponent in a game, especially (in ball sports) one who does not have control of the ball.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • He excelled at cricket, learning the same techniques of blocking and sweeping to the boundary that serve him so well in interviews.
   • The running game has been ineffective because of injuries and poor blocking, and the receivers don't have the speed to make the downfield passing game a threat.
   • Remember, they don't have much to complement him in the way of a running game or blocking.
   • An agile player with good interior moves and shot blocking and rebounding abilities, his offensive game will need development.
   • That allowed the other linemen to work against single blocking and gave linebackers a free path to the ball.
   • Green must become stronger at the point of attack and do a better job of blocking down in the run game.
   • Hall has great quickness and athleticism for his size, he can catch the ball, and the team believes his blocking can come around.
   • The match started well for the Newbridge men with their reception of service and blocking doing well against a very strong attacking side.
   • To him, as he reminds me often, it is still a game of blocking and tackling.
   • They understand the technical aspects of the game, the blocking, tackling, ball carrying, throwing, catching and coverage.
   • Instead, he gained a little weight to help his blocking and has turned himself into a versatile, valuable player.
   • He needs to improve his blocking and become more consistent catching the ball.
   • He will become a more complete player when his blocking improves in the running game.
   • His blocking, still the weakest part of his game, is improving each week.
   • For the team to win more regularly, it must improve its run blocking and ability to run the ball.
   • Williams must add weight and improve his blocking to play every down.
   • While Smith's runs have made him famous the underappreciated part of his game remains his blocking.
   • His blocking and ball carrying have been better than expected, and he has brought leadership to a young locker room.
   • He is strong on the fundamentals of blocking out and has an excellent nose for the ball.
   • He needs to work on his rebounding - shot blocking doesn't seem to be a part of his game - and ballhandling around the basket.

2Psychiatry
The sudden halting of the flow of thought or speech, as a symptom of schizophrenia or other mental disorder.

1. 2.1 Failure to recall or consider an unpleasant memory or train of thought.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • He was also one of the first to talk about repression and blocking out of troubled memories.
   • There are good times to be had, but they require a conscious blocking of the less-than-savoury elements.
   • This paradox arises either through the blocking of memory, or under oppressive regimes through torture and fear of the consequences of testifying.
   • Sometimes it is a way of blocking out painful memories.
   • As for normal people like myself, I will just have to go to bed now, while trying to recall my blocking in my sleep.
   • One of the most common and worrying memory failures is name blocking - being unable to retrieve the names of familiar people.
   • Imagine if your memory did not undergo transience or blocking.

   Synonyms

   blotting out, covering, obscuring, hiding, concealing, veiling, shrouding, darkening

3The grouping or treatment of things (e.g., items of data or shades of color) in blocks.

1. 3.1 The physical arrangement of actors on a stage or movie set.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • This blocking is a major problem and could have been solved with the repositioning of actors.
   • Just finished learning blocking for my first scene ever.
   • It's a memory which, although I can no longer remember a single word of the script, or any of the blocking, has stayed crystal clear in my mind ever since.
   • I took her to our rehearsal and spent a week of blocking with video camcorder.
   • Director James Robinson provides only the most rudimentary blocking, often, as in the muddled party scene, to the detriment of the drama.
   • Would the scene have been as good with different blocking?
   • They helped me with my blocking, took the time to test me on my lines and, at the end of the evening, helped escort me to bed.
   • This and her blocking treat the house-left side of the audience as if they don't exist.
   • All four sections have identical blocking, and the result is a scream.
   • While singing with lovely tone, her ragged entries and distracting blocking added humour but lost novelty quickly.
   • She, and all of them, are constrained by hopeless blocking and a lighting design so discrete as to be invisible to the naked eye.
   • The heroine is cute but her best lines are lost in hurried delivery; wooden acting and static blocking on everyone's part encumber the flat script.
   • He is excellent with direction and blocking and knows how to treat actors!
   • I did manage to do it, with some creative acting from the other members of the cast, some blocking and some clever us of props!
   • Most films of the time were still hampered by a sense of theatrical blocking of scenes into linear sequences.
   • But as I stated earlier the pace of the show was rather too slow and this, I believe, was due mainly to poor blocking.
   • He was especially pleased with some excellent setting and blocking in all three sets.
   • The blocking of this scene - the relationship among actors, lights, and camera - is important to the analysis.
   • We didn't commit to any blocking and did the 13-hour drive to Winnipeg learning the lines.