blockade
Americannoun
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the isolating, closing off, or surrounding of a place, as a port, harbor, or city, by hostile ships or troops to prevent entrance or exit.
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any obstruction of passage or progress.
We had difficulty in getting through the blockade of bodyguards.
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Pathology. interruption or inhibition of a normal physiological signal, as a nerve impulse or a heart muscle–contraction impulse.
verb (used with object)
noun
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military the interdiction of a nation's sea lines of communications, esp of an individual port by the use of sea power
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something that prevents access or progress
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med the inhibition of the effect of a hormone or a drug, a transport system, or the action of a nerve by a drug
verb
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to impose a blockade on
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to obstruct the way to
Related Words
See siege.
Other Word Forms
- blockader noun
- counterblockade noun
- nonblockaded adjective
- preblockade noun
- problockade adjective
- unblockaded adjective
Etymology
Origin of blockade
1670–80; block (in the sense “to create obstacles”) + -ade 1
Explanation
A blockade is an obstacle that stands between you and something you're trying to reach. After a robbery, police might set up a blockade around the neighborhood to catch the thief. Anything that impedes or halts progress is a blockade. If you join the military, you might find yourself building a blockade to confine your enemies and isolate them from the outside world. If you think of the root of this word, block, then you've pretty much got the meaning right there. If you don't want your little sister to disturb the house of cards you're building in my room, you can take lots of pillows and make a fort to use as a blockade to keep her from wandering in and knocking everything over.
Vocabulary lists containing blockade
The American Civil War
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The American Revolution - Introductory
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The U.S. imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports on April 13, shifting leverage in the Strait of Hormuz dispute amid cease-fire negotiations.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026
At least three further tankers that have been sanctioned by the US for links with Iran have also crossed the blockade line since Monday, BBC Verify analysis of ship tracking data suggests.
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026
Naval blockade means for other critical international waterways, like the Strait of Malacca in Asia, Gan said.
From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026
“When the agreement is signed, the blockade ends,” the president told reporters in Phoenix.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026
Yegey in the Hall of the Thirty-Three today: “I unalterably oppose this blockade of grain-exports to Karhide, and the spirit of competition that motivates it.”
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
