barricade
Americannoun
-
a defensive barrier hastily constructed, as in a street, to stop an enemy.
-
any barrier that obstructs passage.
verb (used with object)
-
to obstruct or block with a barricade.
barricading the streets to prevent an attack.
-
to shut in and defend with or as if with a barricade.
The rebels had barricaded themselves in the old city.
- Synonyms:
- fortify
noun
verb
-
to erect a barricade across (an entrance, passageway, etc) or at points of access to (a room, district of a town, etc)
they barricaded the door
-
(usually passive) to obstruct; block
his mind was barricaded against new ideas
Synonym Usage
See bar 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
barricadesimple
-
barricadessimple
-
have barricadedperfect
-
has barricadedperfect
-
am barricadingprogressive
-
are barricadingprogressive
-
is barricadingprogressive
-
have been barricadingperfect progressive
-
has been barricadingperfect progressive
Past
-
barricadedsimple
-
had barricadedperfect
-
was barricadingprogressive
-
were barricadingprogressive
-
had been barricadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of barricade
1585–95; < French, equivalent to barrique barrel (< Gascon ) + -ade -ade 1; early barricades in Paris were often composed of barrels
Explanation
A barricade is anything that prevents people or vehicles from getting through. Construction workers often barricade a street to block traffic. You know how barriers block things from getting through? A barricade is similar. Soldiers create barricades to keep enemy troops out. Police officers put up barricades around a crime scene. If an electrical wire becomes loose and dangerous, a barricade around the area will keep people from getting hurt. This can also be a verb, like when parents barricade part of their house to keep toddlers from getting into trouble. Barricading is a physical way of saying "Keep out!"
Vocabulary lists containing barricade
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 7
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Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
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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:
This is where Minnesota’s lawsuit and Minneapolis residents’ barricade response pulled against each other.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
In July 2024, Rinderknecht demanded the chatbot generate an image that showed wealthy elites dining extravagantly on one side of a wall while the world burned beyond the barricade.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
Some also attempted to erect a barricade with rental bikes which was cleared by police.
From Barron's ● May 30, 2026
Her neighbors put up a barricade to block the vehicles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
A small man wearing a bow tie stood on the other side of a wooden counter, nearly lost behind a barricade of scuppernong jelly and Sweet Fire pickles.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
The struggle over public safety became concrete when residents began placing makeshift barricades in the streets to slow ICE vehicles.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Recalling the incident in an interview with Ukrainian media, Drapaty said his driver asked: "Major, there are barricades ahead. What do we do?"
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
He later recalled being told there were barricades more than a metre high ahead and being asked what to do.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Secrecy surrounding the event is so tight that the reported venue has been cordoned off with privacy tents, tarps and barricades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
There were barricades around Manhattan General, but in all the confusion, I got past them easily.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Subway exits were also barricaded and mobile internet was jammed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
When the attacker later fled into a greengrocer's, Asadian barricaded him in with a shopping trolley, helping to give police enough time to arrive.
From BBC ● May 3, 2026
Drones have been part of the department’s arsenal for just over a decade, but until recently their use was restricted to a narrow set of incidents, most involving barricaded suspects or bomb threats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026
The door had been barricaded - reinforced with planks of wood and bricks - making entry more difficult.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
Once, though, she broke her own rule; in need of additional supplies, and reluctant to rise from the catastrophic mess that barricaded her, she asked Eliot to fetch something from the kitchen.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
On Monday, authorities closed schools and colleges for two days and imposed restrictions on public movement by barricading many arterial roads.
From Barron's ● Mar. 2, 2026
When officers arrived, they detained one suspect immediately, but the second suspect was inside the manhole and refused to come out, barricading himself, said Officer Tony Im, a spokesperson for the Police Department.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2026
After his late-night speech announcing the decree, opposition MPs and protesters converged on the National Assembly, but were met by police and military personnel barricading the building.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2024
Police believe the woman barricading herself is a missing Maryland woman found Tuesday morning.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 29, 2023
On better days, either I’m Elsie’s guinea pig for whatever wild invention she’s working on or she’s barricading the door and helping me practice my magic.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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.
