block grant | a grant of federal money to state and local governments to support social welfare programs, block grants reduce federal responsibility for social welfare |
sampling | (statistics) the selection of a suitable sample for study |
random sampling | the selection of a random sample, each element of the population has an equal chance of been selected |
stratified sampling representative sampling proportional sampling | the population is divided into subpopulations (strata) and random samples are taken of each stratum |
block vote | a vote proportional in magnitude to the number of people that a delegate represents |
blocking block | the act of obstructing or deflecting someone's movements |
trap block | (American football) an illegal block |
acceptance sampling | a statistical procedure for accepting or rejecting a batch of merchandise or documents, involves determining the maximum number of defects discovered in a sample before the entire batch is rejected |
sampling | measurement at regular intervals of the amplitude of a varying waveform (in order to convert it to digital form) |
auction block block | a platform from which an auctioneer sells, they put their paintings on the block |
block | a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides), the pyramids were built with large stone blocks |
block | housing in a large building that is divided into separate units, there is a block of classrooms in the west wing |
blockage block closure occlusion stop stoppage | an obstruction in a pipe or tube, we had to call a plumber to clear out the blockage in the drainpipe |
block and tackle | pulley blocks with associated rope or cable |
block diagram | a diagram showing the interconnections between the components of system (especially an electronic system) |
block plane | a small plane used on end grains of wood |
bollock bullock block | a pulley-block at the head of a topmast |
building block | a block of material used in construction work |
butcher board butcher block | a thick wooden slab formed by bonding together thick laminated strips of unpainted hardwood |
chopping block | a steady wooden block on which food can be cut or diced or wood can be split |
cinder block clinker block breeze block | a light concrete building block made with cinder aggregate, cinder blocks are called breeze blocks in Britain |
cube square block | a block in the (approximate) shape of a cube |
damper block piano damper | damper consisting of a small felted block that drops onto a piano string to stop its vibration |
engine block cylinder block block | a metal casting containing the cylinders and cooling ducts of an engine, the engine had to be replaced because the block was cracked |
highise tower block | tower consisting of a multistoried building of offices or apartments, `tower block' is the British term for `highise' |
ingot metal bar block of metal | metal that is cast in the shape of a block for convenient handling |
linecut line block line engraving | engraving consisting of a block that has been etched or engraved |
office building office block | a building containing offices where work is done |
pillow block | a cast-iron or steel block for supporting a journal or bearing |
pulley pulley-block pulley block block | a simple machine consisting of a wheel with a groove in which a rope can run to change the direction or point of application of a force applied to the rope |
sampling station sampler | an observation station that is set up to make sample observations of something |
sketchbook sketch block sketch pad | a book containing sheets of paper on which sketches can be drawn |
snatch block | a pulley-block that can be opened to receive the bight of a rope |
starting block | block providing bracing for a runner's feet at start of a race |
stumbling block | any obstacle or impediment |
surface gauge surface gage scribing block | gauge consisting of a scriber mounted on an adjustable stand, used to test the accuracy of plane surfaces |
swage block | an iron block cut with holes and grooves to assist in cold working metal |
woodcut wood block wood engraving | engraving consisting of a block of wood with a design cut into it, used to make prints |
block mental block | an inability to remember or think of something you normally can do, often caused by emotional tension, I knew his name perfectly well but I had a temporary block |
writer's block | an inability to write, he had writer's block, the words wouldn't come |
chorionic villus sampling chorionic villus biopsy | a prenatal test to detect birth defects at an early stage of pregnancy, tissue from the chorionic villi is assayed |
sample distribution sample sampling | items selected at random from a population and used to test hypotheses about the population |
block letter block capital | a plain hand-drawn letter |
block | a number or quantity of related things dealt with as a unit, he reserved a large block of seats, he held a large block of the company's stock |
block city block | a rectangular area in a city surrounded by streets and usually containing several buildings, he lives in the next block |
unit building block | a single undivided natural thing occurring in the composition of something else, units of nucleic acids |
measuring unit measuring block | a unit of measurement |
block | (computer science) a sector or group of sectors that function as the smallest data unit permitted, since blocks are often defined as a single sector, the terms `block' and `sector' are sometimes used interchangeably |
bad block | (computer science) a block (usually one sector) that cannot reliably hold data |
block cube | a three-dimensional shape with six square or rectangular sides |