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:
It removes a significant roadblock in the AFC and opens a path for surprise contenders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
The housing supply has improved, but rising mortgage rates are now a roadblock for prospective buyers.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 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
He’s 6 feet 1, which some consider a roadblock to playing at the highest level, but it’s Fields’ intangibles that separate him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
A dark-green pickup truck pulled up to the roadblock on the town side of the bridge, and a lean man in a green uniform got out.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
“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
“It’s absolutely incredible what it can do to reduce the limitations and the roadblocks and the chokepoints in everything from manufacturing supply chains, etc.,” says Lacalle.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
AI agents sent to gather basic online data tried to hack into government and university sites when they hit roadblocks, joining a growing list of rogue incidents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Twice at roadblocks, soldiers searched both him and the nuns.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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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.
