roadblock

noun

road·​block ˈrōd-ˌbläk 

1

a

: a barricade often with traps or mines for holding up an enemy at a point on a road covered by fire

b

: a road barricade set up especially by law enforcement officers

2

: an obstruction in a road

3

: something that blocks progress or prevents accomplishment of an objective

roadblock transitive verb

Examples of roadblock in a Sentence

That's the one roadblock to the plan.

roadblocks on the path to success

Recent Examples on the Web

Event speakers on Thursday acknowledged the roadblocks facing foreign companies in Venezuela, including decaying infrastructure, political uncertainty and the instability wrought by June’s devastating earthquake. — Anna Cooban, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026

Collins' roadblocks lie outside policy debates, and are instead centered around a House ethics probe and reporting that the representative's son-in-law is a white supremacist who may have been paid by Collins' trucking company. — Irene Wright, USA Today, 31 July 2026

Shaky data is often to blame; eight in ten companies cite data limitations as a roadblock to scaling agentic AI. — Jim Douglas, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

But one roadblock consumers may face is a lack of EVs in the dealership lot. — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Rhymes for roadblock

• alcock
• beanstalk
• bedrock
• boardwalk
• catwalk
• cornstalk
• crosswalk
• deadlock
• feedstock
• fetlock
• flintlock
• goshawk

Kids Definition

roadblock

noun

road·​block -ˌbläk 

: a blocking of a road (as by police officers)

Legal Definition

roadblock

noun

road·​block

: a road barricade set up by law enforcement officers especially for the purpose of detecting criminal activity