unblock

English

Etymology

From un- + block.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʌnˈblɒk/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒk

Verb

unblock (third-person singular simple present unblocks, present participle unblocking, simple past and past participle unblocked)

1. (transitive) To remove or clear a block or obstruction from.

   Synonym: deobstruct

   We need a plumber to unblock the sink.

   • 2021 March 10, “Network News: Flooding closes Highland and West Coast main lines in Scotland”, in RAIL, number 926, page 17:

     During this period, Network Rail was able to unblock a culvert and stabilise a high-risk landslip at Beattock, and to stabilise a high-risk landslip site at Ravenstruther (near Carstairs).

2. (transitive) To free or make available.
   • 2010, Syed Ali, Dubai: gilded cage, page 58:

     It is not just bad news about Dubai that gets blocked from the Internet; […] a whole range of other social networking sites have been blocked, unblocked and reblocked.

3. (intransitive, card games) In whist, to throw away a high card so as not to interrupt one's partner's long suit.
4. (transitive) To enable communication again, via telephone, instant messaging, etc., with (somebody previously blocked).

Derived terms

• unblockable
• unblocker

Translations

to remove obstructions

• Bulgarian: освобождавам (bg) (osvoboždavam), премахвам препятствие (premahvam prepjatstvie)
• Catalan: desblocar (ca), desbloquejar (ca)
• Dutch: deblokkeren (nl), ontstoppen (nl)
• French: débloquer (fr)
• Georgian: განბლოკავს (ganbloḳavs)
• Italian: disostruire (it), sbloccare (it)
• Māori: whakatahe, whakapara
• Polish: odetkać pf
• Portuguese: desbloquear (pt)
• Serbo-Croatian: deblokírati impf or pf
• Spanish: desbloquear (es)

to enable communication again, via telephone, instant messaging, etc., with (somebody previously blocked)

• Bulgarian: деблокирам (deblokiram)
• Catalan: desbloquejar (ca)
• Dutch: deblokkeren (nl)
• French: débloquer (fr)
• Hungarian: felold (hu)
• Polish: odblokować
• Spanish: desbloquear (es)
• Swedish: avblockera

Noun

unblock (plural unblocks)

1. The removal of a block or blockage.
   • 1997, Danny Roth, Focus on Declarer Play, page 68:

     Look for every opportunity to create an entry to the weak hand. Spectacular unblocks are often needed.

   • 2017, Natalie Enright Jerger, Tushar Krishna, Li-Shiuan Peh, On-Chip Networks: Second Edition, page 110:

     Control messages, such as requests/forwards/unblocks, are often shorter as they need to carry the address and some header information, while data messages, such as responses, are cache-line sized with some extra header information.