blitz /bl I ts/ (blitzes , blitzing , blitzed )
1 VERB If a city or building is blitzed during a war, it is attacked by bombs dropped by enemy aircraft. □ [be V -ed] In the autumn of 1940, London was blitzed by an average of two hundred aircraft a night. □ [V n] They blitzed the capital with tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft weapons and machine guns.
2 N‑PROPER The heavy bombing of British cities by German aircraft in 1940 and 1941 is referred to as the Blitz .
3 N‑COUNT If you have a blitz on something, you make a big effort to deal with it or to improve it. [INFORMAL ] □ [+ on ] Regional accents are still acceptable but there is to be a blitz on incorrect grammar.
4 N‑COUNT An advertising or publicity blitz is a major effort to make the public aware of something. □ On December 8, the media blitz began in earnest.
blitz|krieg /bl I tskriːg/ (blitzkriegs )
1 N‑COUNT A blitzkrieg is a fast and intense military attack that takes the enemy by surprise and is intended to achieve a very quick victory.
2 N‑COUNT Journalists sometimes refer to a rapid and powerful attack or campaign in, for example, sport, politics, or advertising as a blitzkrieg . [INFORMAL ] □ …a blitzkrieg of media hype.
bliz|zard /bl I zə r d/ (blizzards ) N‑COUNT A blizzard is a very heavy snowstorm with strong winds.
bloat|ed /bloʊ t I d/
1 ADJ If someone's body or a part of their body is bloated , it is much larger than normal, usually because it has a lot of liquid or gas inside it. □ …the bloated body of a dead bullock. □ His face was bloated.
2 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If you feel bloated after eating a large meal, you feel very full and uncomfortable. □ Diners do not want to leave the table feeling bloated.
3 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe an organization as bloated , you mean that it is larger and less efficient than it should be. □ …its massive state apparatus and bloated bureaucracy.
bloat|ing /bloʊ t I ŋ/ N‑UNCOUNT Bloating is the swelling of a body or part of a body, usually because it has a lot of gas or liquid in it. □ …abdominal bloating and pain.
blob /blɒ b/ (blobs )
1 N‑COUNT A blob of thick or sticky liquid is a small, often round, amount of it. [INFORMAL ] □ …a blob of chocolate mousse.
2 N‑COUNT You can use blob to refer to something that you cannot see very clearly, for example because it is in the distance. [INFORMAL ] □ You could just see vague blobs of faces.
bloc /blɒ k/ (blocs )
1 N‑COUNT A bloc is a group of countries which have similar political aims and interests and that act together over some issues. □ …the former Soviet bloc. □ …the world's largest trading bloc.
2 → see also en bloc
block ◆◆◇ /blɒ k/ (blocks , blocking , blocked )
1 N‑COUNT A block of flats or offices is a large building containing them. □ [+ of ] …blocks of council flats. □ …a white-painted apartment block.
2 N‑COUNT A block in a town is an area of land with streets on all its sides. □ She walked four blocks down High Street. □ He walked around the block three times.
3 N‑COUNT A block of a substance is a large rectangular piece of it. □ [+ of ] …a block of ice.
4 VERB To block a road, channel, or pipe means to put an object across it or in it so that nothing can pass through it or along it. □ [V n] Some students today blocked a highway that cuts through the center of the city. □ [V -ed] He can clear blocked drains.
5 VERB If something blocks your view, it prevents you from seeing something because it is between you and that thing. □ [V n] …a row of spruce trees that blocked his view of the long north slope of the mountain.
6 VERB If you block someone's way, you prevent them from going somewhere or entering a place by standing in front of them. □ [V n] I started to move round him, but he blocked my way.
7 VERB If you block something that is being arranged, you prevent it from being done. □ [V n] For years the country has tried to block imports of various cheap foreign products.
8 N‑COUNT A block of something such as tickets or shares is a large quantity of them, especially when they are all sold at the same time and are in a particular sequence or order. □ [+ of ] Those booking a block of seats get them at reduced rates.
9 N‑COUNT If you have a mental block or a block , you are temporarily unable to do something that you can normally do which involves using, thinking about, or remembering something.
10 → see also breeze-block , building block , roadblock , starting block , stumbling block , tower block
11 a chip off the old block → see chip
▸ block in PHRASAL VERB If you are blocked in , someone has parked their car in such a way that you cannot drive yours away. □ [get V -ed P ] Our cars get blocked in and we can't leave for ages. □ [V n P ] Oh, is that your car outside? I may have blocked you in. [Also V P n]
▸ block off PHRASAL VERB When you block off a door, window, or passage, you put something across it so that nothing can pass through it. □ [V P n] They had blocked off the fireplaces to stop draughts. [Also V n P ]