roadblock
Americannoun
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an obstruction placed across a road, especially of barricades or police cars, for halting or hindering traffic, as to facilitate the capture of a pursued car or inspection for safety violations.
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an obstruction on a road, as a fallen tree or a pile of fallen rocks.
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a hastily built barricade, as of barbed wire, erected across a road to hold up the advance of an enemy.
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an action, condition, etc., that obstructs progress toward an objective.
Nationalism is a roadblock to European unity.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a barrier set up across a road by the police or military, in order to stop a fugitive, inspect traffic, etc
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a difficulty or obstacle to progress
Etymology
Origin of roadblock
Explanation
A literal roadblock is a barricade or obstruction that's meant to block traffic. A figurative roadblock is any situation you encounter that makes it difficult or impossible to do what you want or need to do. When a driver encounters a roadblock, she has to stop and go back, or to take a detour and use a different route. This sort of roadblock might be set up to divert cars away from construction or an accident. Other roadblocks are obstructions to progress, like a lawsuit that halts construction on a building or the high cost of something: "The price of converting to a solar water heater was a roadblock to our plans."
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.
Travel ball begins in June, and that’s the big roadblock for softball, with many coaches and players participating.
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026
Rwandan soldiers stopped them at the next roadblock.
From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026
The biggest roadblock for many people is the upfront acquisition costs, including down payments and inspections, he said.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 23, 2026
The need to directly overrule the unit, they said, made it a roadblock — one that no longer exists.
From Salon • Apr. 14, 2026
The window of the bus frames the roadblock like a postcard that I wish I could send to all my faraway pen pals.
From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat
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.
