unblock

present singular third person unblocks · participle present unblocking · participle past unblocked · past unblocked

1. transitiveTo remove or clear a block or obstruction from.

   We need a plumber to unblock the sink.

   1 more example

   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).

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

   Synonyms: deobstruct

2. transitiveTo free or make available.

   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.

   2010, Syed Ali, Dubai: gilded cage, page 58

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

plural unblocks

1. The removal of a block or blockage.

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

   1997, Danny Roth, Focus on Declarer Play, page 68

   1 more example

   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.

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