Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Block off for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's entry is "block off" — a phrasal verb, pronounced /blɒk ɒf/, with the stress on "block".
Narrator: Block off means to close or separate an area, or, figuratively, to reserve a specific time slot.
Narrator: In plain English, this phrase describes physically sealing a space, or deliberately reserving time.
Narrator: It combines "block", to obstruct, with "off", separating one section from the rest.
Narrator: "Block off the road" describes physically closing a street, often for construction or events.
Narrator: It differs from "close" by deliberateness — block off implies a specific, intentional act of separation.
Narrator: "Block off two hours" figuratively describes deliberately reserving calendar time for focused work.
Narrator: Construction sites, events, and calendar planning frequently use "block off" describing deliberate separation.
Narrator: So remember: block off marks deliberate separation — closing a space, or reserving specific time.
Speaker A: "Block off the road" and "block off two hours" both use the phrase, but they feel completely different in scale.
Speaker B: A genuinely fitting shared structure, though! BLOCK OFF combines "block", to obstruct, with "off", separating one section from the rest. Closing a road physically separates traffic; blocking off calendar time figuratively separates that slot from other commitments — same deliberate separation.
Speaker A: So both senses really do share that same idea of deliberately carving out a protected section?
Speaker B: Exactly — that shared "deliberate separation" idea is precisely why block off works so naturally for both!
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "They blocked off the street for the festival"; "I've blocked off Friday afternoon for deep work"; "the area was blocked off after the accident" — event closure, calendar planning, and safety measure.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Regular phrasal verb — block off, blocked off, blocked off; always written as two words!
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: "Cordon off" the physical near-identical cousin, "reserve" the calendar-specific twin, "seal off" the stronger alternative. Block off keeps its deliberate, protective charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "block off" in AI prompts — practical for calendar features and construction-zone mapping tools.
Speaker A: So block off in a prompt often defines exactly what time or space should be deliberately reserved or closed?
Speaker B: Right. For a calendar app's focus-time feature, you'd write:
Prompt: Let users block off recurring focus time each morning, automatically declining meeting invites during that reserved slot.
Speaker A: Good — what about a city-planning app mapping road closures?
Speaker B: The mapping prompt:
Prompt: Show which streets are blocked off for this weekend's event, rerouting navigation automatically around the closed sections.
Speaker A: A construction-safety app marking hazardous zones?
Speaker B: The safety prompt:
Prompt: Mark this construction zone as blocked off on the site map, alerting workers before they enter that restricted area.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: The booking-system prompt:
Prompt: Let venue owners block off dates they're unavailable, hiding those days entirely from the public booking calendar.
Speaker A: Block off always signals a deliberate reservation worth respecting fully.
Speaker B: Exactly — say block off, and the AI protects that reservation properly.
Block off — meaning in Arabic & definition More B courses GL Dictionary