blockade

[ blo-keyd ]

/ blɒˈkeɪd /

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See synonyms for: blockade / blockaded / blockading on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

any obstruction of passage or progress: We had difficulty in getting through the blockade of bodyguards.

Pathology. interruption or inhibition of a normal physiological signal, as a nerve impulse or a heart muscle–contraction impulse.

verb (used with object), block·ad·ed, block·ad·ing.

to subject to a blockade.

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Origin of blockade

1670–80; block (in the sense “to create obstacles”) + -ade¹

synonym study for blockade

1. See siege.

OTHER WORDS FROM blockade

block·ad·er, nouncoun·ter·block·ade, noun, verb, coun·ter·block·ad·ed, coun·ter·block·ad·ing.non·block·ad·ed, adjectivepre·block·ade, noun, verb (used with object), pre·block·ad·ed, pre·block·ad·ing.

pro·block·ade, adjectiveun·block·ad·ed, adjective

Words nearby blockade

bloc, Blocadren, Bloch, Bloch-Sulzberger syndrome, block, blockade, blockade-runner, blockage, block and tackle, block anesthesia, block association

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use blockade in a sentence

Beijing imposed new tariffs and blockades on Australian imports shortly after the resolution passed, even though the scope of the investigation is much smaller than what Canberra had hoped for.
WHO team investigating the origin of COVID-19 will enter China after delays|Eamon Barrett|January 11, 2021|Fortune
On a recent morning at Zhou’s third-floor walk-up apartment, he and his colleague, Ouyang Ruoyu, took out their phones to demonstrate the blockade.
Chinese censorship invades the U.S. via WeChat|Jeanne Whalen|January 7, 2021|Washington Post
Apple is hoping to remove enough critics that they can get away with their blockade on competition.
Apple cuts some App Store fees, but critics call it a ploy to avoid regulation|Reed Albergotti|November 18, 2020|Washington Post
Facing a blockade similar to what TikTok and WeChat now face, ZTE cut a deal.
It’s getting harder for tech companies to bridge the US-China divide|Amy Nordrum|September 21, 2020|MIT Technology Review

It was the longest internet blockade ever in the democratic world.
Podcast: How a 135-year-old law lets India shutdown the internet|Anthony Green|September 2, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Russian President Vladimir Putin pounced quickly Sunday, denouncing the economic blockade of the Donbas.
Eastern Ukraine Braces for ‘Full-Scale War’|Jamie Dettmer|November 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A blockade would have rapidly cut off Pakistan from oil supplies.
ICYMI: India-Pakistan Head for Nuke War|Bruce Riedel|October 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Few, if any, are from Gaza, partly because of the blockade and partly because Hamas has pushed gays even deeper into the closet.
Gay Palestinians In Israel: The 'Invisible Men'|Itay Hod|August 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At 23 years old he has lived under the blockade for almost a third of his life and he is fed up.
The Gaza Paradox: Hamas Has Little Support, but the War Has a Lot|Jesse Rosenfeld|August 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But Karim has been without work since Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007 and Israel imposed its seven-year blockade.
Under American Bombs in Gaza|Jesse Rosenfeld|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
President Lincoln had declared a blockade of the Southern ports as soon as the war had started.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia|Dorothy M. Torpey
The tumbled masses of slate-stratum fallen over one another was a proof that the blockade had been recently made.
Black Diamonds|Mr Jkai
The sea trade of the country had been destroyed by the vigorous blockade which the Dutch ships of war maintained along the coast.
Belgium|George W. T. (George William Thomson) Omond
This outbreak led to a joint British and German blockade, which seriously hampered trade operations.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
This paper blockade was the challenge which called forth the Berlin Decree from Napoleon.
The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte|William Milligan Sloane

British Dictionary definitions for blockade

blockade

/ (blɒˈkeɪd) /

noun

military the interdiction of a nation's sea lines of communications, esp of an individual port by the use of sea power

something that prevents access or progress

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 (tr)

to impose a blockade on

to obstruct the way to

Derived forms of blockade

blockader, noun

Word Origin for blockade

C17: from block + -ade, as in ambuscade

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for blockade

blockade

[ blŏ-kād′ ]

Intravenous injection of large amounts of colloidal dyes in which the reaction of the reticuloendothelial cells to other influences is temporarily prevented.

Arrest of nerve impulse transmission at autonomic synaptic junctions, autonomic receptor sites, or myoneural junctions through the action of a drug.

blockade

Origin of blockade

synonym study for blockade

OTHER WORDS FROM blockade

Words nearby blockade

Words related to blockade

How to use blockade in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for blockade

Derived forms of blockade

Word Origin for blockade

Medical definitions for blockade