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
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 blockade has already kept about half a billion barrels of oil from the market and pushed up prices by around 40%.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
Its Soviet-era power grid already needed upgrades before the blockade; now without fuel, Cubans can’t commute to work or school.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
Recent reports also suggest the country is accepting stablecoins, pegged to currencies such as the dollar, as payment for letting ships through its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
A Russian oil tanker was set to deliver the first crude shipment to Cuba since January on Tuesday after Washington gave the crisis-hit island a reprieve from an effective fuel blockade.
From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026
Kennedy wanted a unanimous recommendation, but the team was divided between advising a blockade or an air strike.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
