blockage

noun

block·​age ˈblä-kij 

: an act or instance of obstructing : the state of being blocked

a blockage in a coronary artery

Examples of blockage in a Sentence

He had surgery to open up blockages in his arteries.

trying to prevent blockage of the artery

Recent Examples on the Web

If your vents are located on the side of the house from where the main winds were blowing during the storm (northeast in the Blizzard of 2026), there is an even greater risk of blockage. —Terry Eliasen, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026

The 322-foot-tall rocket has been sitting out at the launch pad at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center since mid-January, but engineers recently found a blockage in the flow of helium to part of the booster’s upper stage that requires further investigation. —Denise Chow, NBC news, 25 Feb. 2026

In another example cited in the forecast, men tend to have the kind of heart failure following blockages in the coronary artery that mean their hearts can’t pump blood as well. —Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 25 Feb. 2026

In the aftermath of his death, which spurred road blockages and violence, the United States urged citizens across numerous regions in Mexico to shelter in place. —Paris Barraza, USA Today, 23 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1724, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for blockage

• dockage
• lockage

Kids Definition

blockage

noun

block·​age ˈbläk-ij 

: an act or instance of blocking : the state of being blocked

a blockage in an artery

Medical Definition

blockage

noun

block·​age ˈbläk-ij 

: the action of blocking or the state of being blocked: as

a

: blockade sense 2

b

: internal resistance to understanding a communicated idea, to learning new material, or to adopting a new mode of response because of existing habitual ways of thinking, perceiving, and acting compare blocking

Legal Definition

blockage

noun

block·​age

: the condition of a large block of items of property (as shares of stock) that requires special valuation for purposes of estate and gift tax because the value of the items sold as a block differs from their value if sold individually