I've often seen American people use the word "block" as a distance unit, but how exactly long the "block" is?
Native speaker’s answer
Rebecca
In North America, a "block" is a square area of a city surrounded by four streets, usually containing several buildings. In most cities in America and Canada, streets are planned and constructed on a grid, forming "blocks" which are square or rectangular in shape. They can vary in length according to the city (but in simplest terms, you can understand it as the distance between two intersections, so it is a rather small unit). Ex: I live only one block away from my best friend. Ex: Go down two blocks, and you'll reach your destination.
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