cinder block

American  

noun

1. a concrete building block made with a cinder aggregate.

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cinder block British  

noun

1. the usual US name for breeze block

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Etymology

Origin of cinder block

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

The daughter of a traveling salesman, Flores grew up modestly in the cinder block hills of Catia, a hardscrabble district of western Caracas.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

Some of the footage showed the Beach refugee camp, an area of squat, tightly packed cinder block houses, with washing hanging outside.

From Reuters • Nov. 27, 2023

When I was in third grade, our survival drills required us to sit with our little faces pressed against the pastel cinder block walls of our school hallway to contemplate the nuclear apocalypse.

From Salon • Nov. 22, 2023

The Watts Empowerment Center stands right in the middle of Imperial Courts, a collection of squat apartment buildings with faded teal-colored cinder block walls and bars on the windows.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 2023

Today at lunch Tommy and the only other Mexican kid, Rene, walked over to where I was sitting, on a cinder block in the far corner of the yard.

From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña