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

There's another roadblock in seeking justice for a woman who was hit and nearly killed while riding her bike in Sacramento. —Tori Apodaca, CBS News, 13 Jan. 2026

This rapid degradation has remained the final roadblock preventing the technology from reaching the mass market. —Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 12 Jan. 2026

Moore was arrested just before midnight at a police roadblock in Cedarbluff after dozens of local, state and federal officers flooded northeast Mississippi. —Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 11 Jan. 2026

The roadblock comes in the form of Polis. —Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 8 Jan. 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