# block in

CEFR B1 · Phrasal verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/block-in
Updated: 2026-04-24

## Definition

to park your car so close to another car that it cannot move or leave.

For teachers: to obstruct a vehicle's path of egress by parking another vehicle in front of or behind it; transitive and often used in the passive voice.

## Examples

- I can't leave because a blue van has blocked me in.
- Someone blocked in my car this morning, so I had to take the bus to work.
- The narrow driveway was so crowded that several guests found themselves blocked in by the late arrivals, necessitating a complex reshuffling of vehicles.

## Pitfalls

- Not "He blocked in me." but "He blocked me in." — when the object is a pronoun like 'me' or 'him', it must go between the verb and the particle.

## Usage notes

- usually used with a person or a vehicle as the direct object.
- Teaching tip: this is a great example of a separable phrasal verb where the object (the person or car) is 'trapped' between the verb and the particle, mirroring the physical situation.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.