blockade

/blɒˈkeɪd/US/blɑˈkeɪd/

blockade noun: the physical blocking or surrounding of a place, especially a port, in order to prevent commerce and traffic in or out.

Image: U.S. Navy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

blockade (plural blockades)

The physical blocking or surrounding of a place, especially a port, in order to prevent commerce and traffic in or out.
- A six-day blockade from 28 May to 2 June saw NR [National Rail] straighten the track through the station, facilitating a linespeed increase from 60mph to 85mph over a 4km stretch.2019 October, Philip Sherratt, “Midland Main Line upgrade presses on”, in Modern Railways, page 62
(broadly) Any form of formal isolation or inhibition of something, especially with the force of law or arms.
- In the mean time, Francesca, separated from Madame de Mercœur, was hidden by a group around the Queen of Sweden. With the wall on one side, and a human blockade on the other, she was left at full leisure to meditate on a vow made at the first announcement of the lottery, namely, that whatever might...1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 265
The ships or other forces used to effect a naval blockade.
Inhibition of the activity (function) of chemical messengers or their receptors, such as (often) receptor antagonism.
- beta-blockade
Synonyms:

antagonism, receptor antagonism
The act of preventing an opponent's pawn moving by placing a piece in front of it.
Synonym of prime.

Synonyms:

prime

Verb

blockade (third-person singular simple present blockades, present participle blockading, simple past and past participle blockaded)

(transitive) To create a blockade against.
- On January 5 1969, residents blockaded the level crossing at Newcastleton, ahead of the final passenger train. It was only after the then-local MP David (now Lord) Steel had alighted from the St Pancras-bound Sleeper service and negotiated their dispersal (in return for the release without charge...2020 May 6, Graeme Pickering, “Borders Railway: time for the next step”, in Rail, page 52
- Its success has even spawned a term, “Dubaification” — the spread of the same malls and towers, restaurants, airport lounges and luxury brands that make places feel secure and, despite its proximity to Iran and the now blockaded Strait of Hormuz, out of harm’s way.2026 March 16, Richard Florida, “Could This Be the End of Dubai?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 16 Mar 2026

blockade meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

blockade in Hindi

isolation of something: नाकाबंदी nākābandī, घेरा gherā

blockade in Tamil

அழியடைப்பு, சூழடைப்பு, தடு, தடை வளைப்பு, முற்றுகை, முற்றுகையிடு

blockade in Marathi

नाकाबंदी, नाकेबंदी

blockade in Urdu

isolation of something: گھِیرا gherā, محاصرہ muhāsara

More languagesFewer languages

blockade in Bengali: অবরোধ
blockade in Malayalam: ഉപരോധം uparōdhaṁ
blockade in Kannada: ಮುತ್ತಿಗೆ, ದಿಗ್ಬಂಧ
blockade in Gujarati: નાકાબંધી
blockade in Odia: ବେଢ଼ beṛha
blockade in Nepali: नाकाबंदी
blockade in Pashto: محاصره mahāsera
blockade in Arabic: حِصَار ḥiṣār, مُحَاصَرَة muḥāṣara
blockade in Indonesian: blokade
blockade in Persian: محاصره mohâsere
blockade in Thai: การปิดล้อม gaan-bpìt-lɔ́ɔm, ปิดล้อม bpìt-lɔ́ɔm
blockade in Vietnamese: sự bao vây, sự phong tỏa

Examples of blockade in a sentence

J.F.K. "quarantined" Cuba rather than blockading it to avoid needless escalation of the conflict.
In the first scenario, a minor skirmish escalated into a multiweek maritime blockade of Taiwan by China.
Near the end, there's a blockade of three foes, including one elite.

All 36 example sentences with blockade

Synonyms of blockade

antagonism
receptor antagonism
prime
embargo

Forms of blockade

Noun
plural	blockades
Verb
third-person singular present	blockades
present participle	blockading
past participle	blockaded
past	blockaded

Plural of blockade: blockades

Origin of blockade

From block + -ade, probably after Dutch blocquade (now blokkade) or German Blockade.

Words formed from blockade

Phrases with blockade

Words that rhyme with blockade

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about blockade

What does blockade mean?: Blockade means the physical blocking or surrounding of a place, especially a port, in order to prevent commerce and traffic in or out.
What is blockade in Hindi?: Blockade in Hindi is नाकाबंदी (nākābandī), घेरा (gherā). See Blockade meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is blockade?: Blockade can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce blockade?: Blockade is pronounced /blɑˈkeɪd/ (US).
What is the plural of blockade?: The plural of blockade is blockades.

Words near blockade in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: blockade (page history and authors); blockade (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); blockade (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); blockade (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ഉപരോധം (Malayalam) (page history and authors); blockade (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); blockade (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ବେଢ଼ (Odia) (page history and authors); blockade (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-blockade.wav.

Cite this entry: “blockade.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/blockade. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.