BUILDING BLOCK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does building block mean? 

• BUILDING BLOCK (noun)
  The noun BUILDING BLOCK has 2 senses:

1. a single undivided natural thing occurring in the composition of something else

2. a block of material used in construction work

  Familiarity information: BUILDING BLOCK used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BUILDING BLOCK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A single undivided natural thing occurring in the composition of something else

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

building block; unit

Context example:

units of nucleic acids

Hypernyms ("building block" is a kind of...):

thing (a separate and self-contained entity)

Meronyms (parts of "building block"):

part; piece (a portion of a natural object)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "building block"):

chain; chemical chain ((chemistry) a series of linked atoms (generally in an organic molecule))

couple ((physics) something joined by two equal and opposite forces that act along parallel lines)

unit cell (the smallest group of atoms or molecules whose repetition at regular intervals in three dimensions produces the lattices of a crystal)

chemical group; group; radical ((chemistry) two or more atoms bound together as a single unit and forming part of a molecule)

molecule ((physics and chemistry) the simplest structural unit of an element or compound)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A block of material used in construction work

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("building block" is a kind of...):

building material (material used for constructing buildings)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "building block"):

ashlar (a rectangular block of hewn stone used for building purposes)

breeze block; cinder block; clinker block (a light concrete building block made with cinder aggregate)

headstone; key; keystone (the central building block at the top of an arch or vault)

voussoir (wedge-shaped stone building block used in constructing an arch or vault)

 Context examples 

HMG-14 and HMG-17 are the only nuclear proteins known to specifically recognize the genetic structure of the 146-bp nucleosome, i.e., the building block of the chromatin fiber.

(Nucleosome Binding Domain, NCI Thesaurus)

Because glutamate is a building block of glutathione, the researchers wondered if the brain may use glutathione as a way to store extra glutamate.

(Key to Treating Schizophrenia May Be Found in Broccoli, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

A building block of plant cells and fiber.

(Cellulose, NCI Dictionary)

An amino acid is a protein building block.

(NG-nitro-L-arginine, NCI Dictionary)

A building block for nucleic acids (the molecules inside cells that carry genetic information).

(Nucleotide, NCI Dictionary)

Plants, algae, and certain types of bacteria can pull CO2 out of the air and use it as a building block for sugars, proteins and other molecules in their bodies.

(Carbon hides in sediment, keeping oxygen in atmosphere, National Science Foundation)

Many viruses use CTP as a building block to synthesize the new strands of genetic material they need to replicate.

(Scientists Discover How Antiviral Gene Works, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Those that form farther away use ice as a building block and become comets.

(New Study Shows What Interstellar Visitor ‘Oumuamua Can Teach Us, NASA)

Acetate is the most common building block for biosynthesis, such as fatty acids.

(Acetate, NCI Thesaurus)

Today, this dust is plentiful and is a key building block in the formation of stars, planets and complex molecules; but in the early Universe — before the first generations of stars died out — it was scarce.

(Ancient Stardust Sheds Light on the First Stars, ESO)