Dictionary.com

roadblock

[ rohd-blok ]
/ ˈroʊdˌblɒk /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR roadblock

noun

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.
an obstruction on a road, as a fallen tree or a pile of fallen rocks.
a hastily built barricade, as of barbed wire, erected across a road to hold up the advance of an enemy.
an action, condition, etc., that obstructs progress toward an objective: Nationalism is a roadblock to European unity.

verb (used with object)

to halt or obstruct with or as if with a roadblock.

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Origin of roadblock

First recorded in 1935–40; road + block

Words nearby roadblock

roadability, road agent, road allowance, road apple, roadbed, roadblock, road book, road company, roadeo, road-fund licence, road gang
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to roadblock

blockade, barricade, obstruction

Example sentences from the Web for roadblock

British Dictionary definitions for roadblock

roadblock
/ (ˈrəʊdˌblɒk) /

noun

a barrier set up across a road by the police or military, in order to stop a fugitive, inspect traffic, etc
a difficulty or obstacle to progress
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