Synonyms
Examples of blockade in a Sentence
Alex Galitsky, Time, 20 Sep. 2023
Russia has blockaded the ports to halt grain shipments desperately needed for the Ukrainian economy and to feed much of the developing world.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 31 July 2023
Protesters lit bonfires and attempted to blockade traffic, setting up a confrontations with police, who responded with tear gas and sometimes with bullets.
—Rael Ombuor, Washington Post, 19 July 2023
Campers can rent snorkel gear, spend their days relaxing on the beach, or check out Fort Jefferson, a 19th-century fortress used by the Union army to blockade Confederate shipping channels during the Civil War.
—Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 21 July 2023
This passage also effectively enabled Russia to blockade Ukrainian shipping that passed between the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, containing the important ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk.
—Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 17 July 2023
Russia had blockaded Ukrainian ports, blocking ships from carrying its grain and sending global prices soaring to record highs.
—Farnaz Fassihi, New York Times, 17 July 2023
And a smaller bloc of ultraconservative members who have threatened to blockade the House floor if their priorities are not met has almost always voted against appropriations bills — in an average of 93 percent of cases.
—Carl Hulse, BostonGlobe.com, 2 July 2023
Economic impact For weeks at a time this year, Israeli forces have set up checkpoints into and out of the city of Jericho, causing hours-long back-ups and effectively blockading the population of 25,000.
—Hadas Gold, CNN, 30 May 2023
David Sivak, Washington Examiner, 20 Sep. 2023
And, in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, MBS helped orchestrate a land and sea blockade against Qatar in an attempt to coerce Doha into altering its foreign policy to Riyadh’s liking.
—Time, 20 Sep. 2023
The claim of a further advance in the east came as there were signs that Ukraine may be able to open an alternative route for grain shipments in the face of Russia’s de facto blockade of its ports.
—Matthew Mpoke Bigg, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Sep. 2023
Lee has vigorously defended Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s month-long blockade of hundreds of military promotions to force the Biden administration to rescind a policy to provide leave and reimburse travel expenses for service members and their families to travel to other states for abortions.
—Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 8 Sep. 2023
The blockade, which Israel says is needed to prevent Hamas from arming, severely limits the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza.
—Issam Adwan and Isabel Debre, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Sep. 2023
Local media also reported that there has been a blockade of the ancient city of Timbuktu for weeks following an announcement by GSIM.
—Teele Rebane, CNN, 8 Sep. 2023
Russia is known to have used its naval ships in the Black Sea to strike deep into Ukrainian territory and impose an effective blockade of the Ukrainian Black Sea coast, which is crucial to global grain shipments.
—Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 8 Sep. 2023
The blockade inspired similar protests at several U.S.-Canada border crossings, including the Ambassador Bridge, which links Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, a critical corridor for the movement of cars and car parts.
—Amanda Coletta, Washington Post, 5 Sep. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'blockade.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Verb
derivative of blockade entry 2
Noun
block entry 2 + -ade, after German (17th century) Blocquade, Bloquade, Bloquada & Dutch (17th century) Blocquade, Bloquade
Note: The German and Dutch words, which are common in accounts of contemporary events in Europe following the siege and sack of Magdeburg in 1631, are of uncertain origin. They appear to have no Romance antecedents. According to R.J. Brunt, The Influence of the French Language on the German Vocabulary: 1649-1735 (De Gruyter, 2013) "…Ger[man] Blockade probably derives from Ital[ian] bloccato, the past part[iciple] of the verb bloccare 'stringere con il blocco, privare di refornimenti" (p. 160). It seems much more likely however, as Brunt suggests in the same paragraph, that the word was formed from German bloquiren (present-day blockieren), attested earlier and probably borrowed from French blocquer (though in this sense the word is attested only slightly earlier). The suffix -ade/-ada is a distinct borrowing from Romance sources. The Dutch word may have been borrowed from German, or independently formed from blockeren "to enclose" (present-day blokkeren "to obstruct"), also borrowed from French.
Phrases Containing blockade
Dictionary Entries Near blockade
Cite this Entry
“Blockade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blockade. Accessed 27 Sep. 2023.
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Kids Definition
blockade
noun
Medical Definition
blockade
1 of 2 noun
blockade
2 of 2 transitive verb
More from Merriam-Webster on blockade
Nglish: Translation of blockade for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of blockade for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about blockade
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