noun
Meaning 1
Something that blocks or obstructs a road.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
roadblock
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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CMU ARPABET: R OW1 D B L AA2 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
An obstacle or impediment.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
Examples
- to hit roadblocks
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: bar, drag, barrier, bone in the throat, bump in the road, hindrance, impediment, obstruction, obstacle, encumbrance, hurdle, roadblock, stumbling block, hitch
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 3
To prevent, to hinder.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: idiomatic, informal, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
a barrier set up by police to stop traffic on a street or road in order to catch a fugitive or inspect traffic etc.
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: barricade
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: barrier
noun
Meaning 5
any condition that makes it difficult to make progress or to achieve an objective
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- intolerance is a barrier to understanding
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: barrier
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: obstacle, obstruction
Narrower terms: ideological barrier, language barrier
History
Etymology
From road + block.
Across languages
Translations
54 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Arabic: حَاجِز (ḥājiz) — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Arabic: حاجز (ḥājez) — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Chinese Mandarin: 路障 (lùzhàng) — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Czech: silniční zátaras — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Dutch: wegversperring — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Dutch: wegblokkade — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Esperanto: baraĵo — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Esperanto: barilo — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Finnish: tiesulku — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Finnish: este — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- French: barrage routier — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- German: Absperrung — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- German: Straßensperre — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Hebrew: מחסום (makhsóm) — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Indonesian: pembatas jalan — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Indonesian: sekatan jalan raya — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Italian: blocco stradale — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Japanese: 道路封鎖 (dōro fūsa) — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Malay: sekatan jalan raya — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Norwegian Bokmål: veisperring — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Norwegian Bokmål: vegsperring — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Norwegian Nynorsk: vegsperring — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Polish: blokada — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Romanian: blocaj — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Russian: блокпо́ст (blokpóst) — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Russian: загражде́ние (zagraždénije) — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Spanish: barrera vial — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Spanish: barricada viaria — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Spanish: retén — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Swedish: vägspärr — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Vietnamese: rào chắn — Something that blocks or obstructs a road
- Dutch: versperring — An obstacle or impediment
- Dutch: obstakel — An obstacle or impediment
- Dutch: tegenwerkende factor — An obstacle or impediment
- Finnish: este — An obstacle or impediment
- Finnish: hidaste — An obstacle or impediment
- German: Hindernis — An obstacle or impediment
- German: Wegversperrung — An obstacle or impediment
- Indonesian: rintangan — An obstacle or impediment
- Indonesian: halangan — An obstacle or impediment
- Malay: sekatan — An obstacle or impediment
- Malay: halangan — An obstacle or impediment
- Polish: przeszkoda — An obstacle or impediment
- Russian: препя́тствие (prepjátstvije) — An obstacle or impediment
- Russian: поме́ха (poméxa) — An obstacle or impediment
- Russian: препо́на (prepóna) — An obstacle or impediment
- Spanish: barrera — An obstacle or impediment
- Finnish: estää — to prevent, hinder
- Polish: blokować — to prevent, hinder
- Polish: zablokować — to prevent, hinder
- Polish: przeszkadzać — to prevent, hinder
- Polish: przeszkodzić — to prevent, hinder
- Polish: utrudniać — to prevent, hinder
- Polish: utrudnić — to prevent, hinder
Real reading context