blockade
Americannoun
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blockades
plural
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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)
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blockades,
present (3rd person singular)
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blockaded,
past participle, past
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blockading
present participle
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
Synonym Usage
See siege.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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blockadernoun
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counterblockadenoun
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preblockadenoun
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nonblockadedadjective
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problockadeadjective
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unblockadedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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blockadesimple
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blockadessimple
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have blockadedperfect
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has blockadedperfect
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am blockadingprogressive
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are blockadingprogressive
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is blockadingprogressive
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have been blockadingperfect progressive
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has been blockadingperfect progressive
Past
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blockadedsimple
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had blockadedperfect
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was blockadingprogressive
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were blockadingprogressive
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had been blockadingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
The strike group twice enacted the most effective naval blockade in modern history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
When the capital came under siege by Islamist fighters, they managed to impose a partial blockade there and total blockades elsewhere including the city of Ségou.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Iran also has less of a buffer than before the first blockade in April, Capital Economics said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
They began attacks on shipping last month - announcing a naval blockade of Saudi ports.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Riker’s men had peeled off so they could regroup at the harbor and form a blockade.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
Iran’s oil exports have been greatly reduced after the U.S. imposed naval blockades of Iranian ports, though it is unclear how long that will remain the case.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
When the capital came under siege by Islamist fighters, they managed to impose a partial blockade there and total blockades elsewhere including the city of Ségou.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Paz on June 20 declared a state of emergency after nearly two months of opposition road blockades over his handling of Bolivia's worst crisis in four decades.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
In recent years it has stepped up military drills near Taiwan, including simulating blockades on the island.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
As we drove past the burning blockades, it felt like we were inside an oven.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
“Our commerce in the Mediterranean was blockaded; and that of the Atlantic in peril,” Jefferson wrote External link in his message to Congress on Dec. 8, 1801.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
The Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries one-fifth of global oil output, remains largely blockaded as a stop-start US-Iran peace process unfolds, dealing a blow to Gulf exporters and sending energy prices soaring.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
A pipeline from the oilfields of Abu Dhabi runs to Fujairah, allowing limited amounts of crude to be loaded on to tankers and shipped to world markets despite the strait being effectively blockaded.
From BBC ● May 4, 2026
Only 40% of Iran’s trade can be redirected away from blockaded ports, the Iranian Shipping Association said Thursday via the Fars news agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s security services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
The 101st Long Range Air Regiment, as well as bombing, helped bring supplies by air to the blockaded and starving city of Leningrad.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
ICE reported a half-dozen arrests outside the facility after masked agents used force against protestors who they said were blockading the entrances to the facility.
From Salon ● May 30, 2026
Instead, he sought a middle road by blockading Iran’s oil capacity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
The blockading of "critical national infrastructure" had "resulted in fuel shortages that are directly impacting on emergency services such as hospitals, the ambulance service, and the fire service", he said.
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
"I don't understand how blockading the strait is going to somehow push the Iranians into opening it. I don't get the connection there."
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
The British believed that by blockading German shipping lanes and seaports, they could starve Germany into submission.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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.
