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

While the market reopened on November 20, guarded by armed police and protected by concrete barricades, it remained closed on Saturday out of respect to the victims of last year's attack.

From Barron's

Uncollected garbage barricaded the drainage ditches that encased their neighborhood.

From Salon

They locked the doors and barricaded them with chairs and desks.

From The Wall Street Journal

Afterwards, Machado went outside to greet her supporters, who waited behind metal barricades on the street.

From BBC

As the Popemobile made its way from the port to the waterfront, people jostled against metal barricades to get a better vantage point for smartphone videos.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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