barricade

American  

[bar-i-keyd, bar-i-keyd] / ˈbær ɪˌkeɪd, ˌbær ɪˈkeɪd /

noun

1. a defensive barrier hastily constructed, as in a street, to stop an enemy.

2. any barrier that obstructs passage.

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verb (used with object)

barricaded, barricading

1. to obstruct or block with a barricade.

   barricading the streets to prevent an attack.

2. to shut in and defend with or as if with a barricade.

   The rebels had barricaded themselves in the old city.

   Synonyms:

   fortify

barricade British  

/ ˈbærɪˌkeɪd, ˌbærɪˈkeɪd /

noun

1. a barrier for defence, esp one erected hastily, as during street fighting

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verb

1. to erect a barricade across (an entrance, passageway, etc) or at points of access to (a room, district of a town, etc)

   they barricaded the door

2. (usually passive) to obstruct; block

   his mind was barricaded against new ideas

Related Words

See bar ¹.

Other Word Forms

• barricader noun
• unbarricade verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of barricade

1585–95; < French, equivalent to barrique barrel (< Gascon ) + -ade -ade ¹; early barricades in Paris were often composed of barrels

Example Sentences

"We got tables and barricaded the doors" for over two hours, Darian said, until police arrived to escort them out of the school.

From BBC

On opposite sides of the makeshift barricade, fronted by coils of barbed wire, Cambodians lamented their lost homes and livelihoods as Thailand's military showed off its gains.

From Barron's

With Beatlemania, argues Fink, “huge masses of women got used to smashing through police barricades.”

From The Wall Street Journal

For the other hike, I headed to the closed portion of June Lake Loop and parked just short of the barricade.

From Los Angeles Times

An attempted theft of copper wire on Tuesday led to a predawn barricade situation — inside a city manhole — authorities said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• barrier
• blockade
• fence
• rampart
• roadblock
• wall