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 military said it had turned around 135 vessels since the blockade resumed July 14.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
“Lincoln Nation conducted major combat operations, enforced naval blockade and demonstrated the presence and power of the carrier strike group and multiple numbered fleets, all while keeping up unprecedented operational tempo.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Since then, they have regularly targeted oil and military installations in Saudi Arabia and have declared a maritime blockade on its ships.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
“Vessels that refuse to comply with blockade enforcement, receive multiple warnings, with ample opportunity to comply,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
“We can’t tell. The British are trying to blockade the harbor. They’ve got ships offshore there, all the time, watching for our ships.”
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
With the Strait of Hormuz largely sealed by rival U.S and Iranian blockades, Riyadh shifted its exports from Hormuz, its main energy corridor, to the Red Sea coast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
France's 10,000 medical students, however, are beginning to express concern at the effect any continued school blockades could have on exams starting Monday that help determine their eventual speciality.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
But Nuñez said the demonstrations and blockades were "not very typical protest movements".
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
A: There is no reason to intervene, there are no blockades.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
He liked moving his tiger and elephant pawns through his opponent’s blockades, but he became furious if, owing to a toss of the dice, he was captured and sent back to “Start.”
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
On Tuesday, more than 260,000 students, parents and teachers took to the streets as protesters blockaded hundreds of high schools.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Students' unions put the number at 450,000, and said the number of high schools blockaded was 1,800 on what the protesters dubbed "Act Three" of their movement.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 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
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
“What is there to buy in Biafra? They have blockaded us kpam-kpam.”
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The demonstrations, which started in Paris and have seen teenagers blockading their schools for days, stem from issues including overcrowded classes and teacher shortages.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
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
It added that the "the naval blockade, according to the reported framework, would also need to be fully lifted within 30 days", referring to the US blockading Iranian ports.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
Six weeks into the conflict, the U.S. responded by blockading shipments from all Iranian ports.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
