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 U.S. has maintained a presence of about 20 Navy ships in the region in recent months to enforce its blockade and help escort commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to Navy officials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
It started a blockade and a devastating air campaign that persisted until a 2022 truce.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
In exchange, Tehran sought an end to the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, sanctions relief and access to frozen Iranian assets, according to reports.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
It noted that the US, Iran and allies would end military operations on "all fronts" and contained provisions including the end of a US naval blockade and sanctions relief.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
A blockade was better than an immediate air strike, which could lead so quickly to all-out war.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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
The only blockades left are here in the Tropics of Cochabamba, which is highly disciplined.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
Competing blockades around the Strait of Hormuz maritime oil trade route pushed up energy prices, sending shipping costs soaring.
From Barron's ● Jun. 21, 2026
"Bolivians cannot continue to be hostages of blockades that prevent working, studying, receiving medical attention, supplying themselves, and bringing sustenance to their homes," he said in a social media post on Saturday.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
She’d head straight out, and as we’d inch our way past the blockades, she’d give the rioters this look.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
At least 30 universities have also reportedly been blockaded, including campuses in Rennes and Paris.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
According to the AFP news agency, four high schools were reportedly blockaded in the southern regions of Alpes-Maritimes and Var.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Settlers near Nablus since Sunday have blockaded Palestinian homes, including one owned by a US citizen, with residents saying they have been cut off from food and other supplies.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
But Iran had effectively blockaded the key waterway, and just 25 nautical miles from Hormuz, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps denied permission for the vessel to proceed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 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
US President Donald Trump says that the US is going to start blockading the Strait of Hormuz after talks with Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war.
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026
Elsewhere, police dismantled a makeshift barrier erected by protesters blockading western Galway docks.
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
But Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN on Sunday: "I don't understand how blockading the strait is going to somehow push the Iranians into opening it."
From BBC ● 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.
