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
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:
That blockade centered on the Bab al Mandeb strait, the only southbound route for Saudi tankers headed to Asian markets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Andreas Krieg, a security expert at King's College London, said: "A simultaneous crisis at Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb would produce a much larger shock than either blockade alone".
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
The day before the Houthis announced their blockade, 20 vessels entered the Red Sea and 22 exited via the Bab al-Mandeb strait, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
If the Houthi blockade catches up more than Saudi ships, crossings could fall even further, Kpler analysts said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Earned two German medals for running a British blockade.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
Kirchner, one of them, wanted to engage in acts of civil disobedience, such as blockades of OpenAI’s offices, to bring more attention to the cause, according to Elmore and others in the group.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
The only blockades left are here in the Tropics of Cochabamba, which is highly disciplined.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
In recent years it has stepped up military drills near Taiwan, including simulating blockades on the island.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 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
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
But Brent and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate retreated more than two percent Wednesday on renewed hopes a deal to reopen the blockaded Strait of Hormuz was on track.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
Top US diplomat Marco Rubio insisted on Tuesday that the blockaded strait would reopen "one way or the other".
From Barron's ● May 26, 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
A military plan for blockading the Strait of Hormuz has been sitting on the shelves at U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 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
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
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.
