barricade

verb bar·ri·cade \ ˈber-ə-ˌkād , ˈba-rə- ; ˌber-ə-ˈkād , ˌba-rə- \

|Updated on: 10 Aug 2018

Examples: barricade in a Sentence

Definition of barricade

barricaded; barricading

transitive verb

1 : to block off or stop up with a barricade

barricade a street

2 : to prevent access to by means of a barricade

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See barricade defined for kids

Examples of barricade in a Sentence

The police barricaded the crime scene.
the city barricaded the flooded streets

Recent Examples of barricade from the Web

No workers outside of the newspaper were harmed, though some told stories of barricading themselves in their offices, hearing gunshots and being escorted from the building by police with their hands on their heads.

— meredith cohn, baltimoresun.com, "What happens to the sites of mass shootings depends on where and what they are," 10 July 2018
On July 7, Tyler Honeycutt was found dead after barricading himself inside a Sherman Oaks residence and having a standoff with police.

— jenna west, SI.com, "Former UCLA Player Billy Knight Found Dead at 39," 10 July 2018
The man initially fired a gun from a house on the block before barricading himself in the garage, police said in a statement.

— hannah leone, chicagotribune.com, "Man dies after SWAT standoff in Calumet Heights," 16 June 2018
After shooting him, gunman Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr. barricaded himself in the apartment with the four children ages 1 to 11 and shot them dead -- then turned the gun on himself.

— faith karimi, CNN, "Orlando officer shot in deadly standoff is fighting for his life, wife says," 14 June 2018
Imagine students barricaded in classrooms with no way to escape.

— german lopez, Vox, "Fox News writer: the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a … cannon," 1 June 2018
Terre Haute police Chief John Plasse said the suspect was wounded in the ensuing standoff with officers from the city and other agencies, then barricaded himself inside the building.

— Fox News, "Indiana police officer fatally shot; suspect confirmed dead after shootout," 5 May 2018
The man was barricaded in a stairwell, police said.

— janelle walker, Elgin Courier-News, "Officer shoots and kills man who injured 3 police officers in South Elgin," 4 July 2018
Police tried to make contact with Kiley while he was barricaded inside the home, Fiore said, but weren't able to, reports Syracuse.com.

— crimesider staff, CBS News, "Cops: New York state trooper shot dead responding to call over suicidal man," 2 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'barricade.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of barricade

borrowed from Middle French, noun derivative of barricade ²barricade

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1592

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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barricade Synonyms

Other Military Terms

bivouac, logistics, petard, salient, sally, supernumerary, tactical

barricade

noun

Definition of barricade

1 a : an obstruction or rampart thrown up across a way or passage to check the advance of the enemy

b : barrier 1a

2 : barrier 3, obstacle

3 barricades plural : a field of combat or dispute

See barricade defined for English-language learners

Examples of barricade in a Sentence

The enemy broke through the barricade.
Police erected barricades to keep the crowds from approaching the crime scene.

Recent Examples of barricade from the Web

Police had set up barricades across Lahore to prevent Mr. Sharif’s supporters reaching the airport and detained activists of Mr. Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N party.

— saeed shah, WSJ, "Deadly Bombings and Ex-Leader’s Arrest Roil Pakistan Before Vote," 13 July 2018
Protesters also set fire to a tax office in the Tabarre area of the capital and set up barricades of flaming tires and debris around Port-au-Prince.

— BostonGlobe.com, "General strike, unrest over fuel prices continue in Haiti," 10 July 2018
Demonstrators burned tires and set up barricades to block major streets across the capital and in the northern city of Cap-Haitien.

— kaitlyn schallhorn, Fox News, "Haiti protests leave US church youth groups stranded in Caribbean nation as violence, roadblocks continue," 7 July 2018
Right after the game ended, the violence erupted with crowds in several major cities setting up fiery barricades with tires cutting off major roads.

— jacqueline charles, miamiherald, "As violent protests continue over gas prices, U.S. airlines cancel all flights to Haiti," 7 July 2018
On many streets, the rebels have dug trenches and erected sand barricades, preparing for possible street-by-street clashes against the coalition forces, residents said.

— ali al mujahed, Washington Post, "Thousands flee key Yemeni port city as Hodeida offensive continues," 5 July 2018
Among the latest victims were at least 20 killed on July 8th when the paramilitaries cleared opposition barricades from two small towns south of Managua, the capital.

— The Economist, "Daniel Ortega is causing a bloodbath in Nicaragua," 12 July 2018
Security appeared limited to a part of the parking lot blocked by a row of blue police street barricades.

— meredith colias-pete, Post-Tribune, "No deportation flight and no police as more than 100 protest at Gary airport," 6 July 2018
Earlier in the day, Leiva, Román, and other human rights workers returned a police officer captured at a barricade in a nearby town to the Masaya police station.

— kyra gurney, miamiherald, "Nicaragua's revolutionary town now a war zone defended by teenagers armed with rocks," 7 June 2018

Origin and Etymology of barricade

borrowed from French, going back to Middle French, from barrique "barrel," a typical component of barricades (borrowed from Gascon barriqua, probably going back to pre-Latin *barrīca) + -ade -ade

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1642

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year