roadblock
Americannoun
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roadblocks
plural
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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.
-
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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
The housing supply has improved, but rising mortgage rates are now a roadblock for prospective buyers.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
Tesla’s robotaxi services may have hit a roadblock following the highly-anticipated launch of the Cybercab.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
In the biggest races in the sport, such as three-week Grand Tour the Tour de France, some stages take place on fully closed roads, but many World Tour events use a 'rolling roadblock'.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
That’s because playing on the same defensive line might clear the biggest roadblock that they have faced stopping them from putting up even gaudier numbers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
A police roadblock wasn’t common, but not all that unusual, either.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
“I thought I could do this myself, and at a certain point, I hit a ton of roadblocks at the city,” Marissa Rodriguez said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
Luke Ihnen, one of Pike's lawyers, began by describing the "roadblocks" that have made it challenging to communicate with his client.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Jordan Campbell’s enforcement efforts have pressured healthcare providers even as they have hit roadblocks in court.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
But data-center development in general has hit roadblocks thanks to local backlash, an electricity crunch and other factors.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
The other three lead into Virginia, with its many roadblocks and Union soldiers.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
