Definition of obstacle
: something that impedes progress or achievement Mosquitoes were a great obstacle to the building of the Panama Canal. … elders … often facing daily medical, social, and psychological obstacles. — Vicki Bloom and B. B. Green-Field
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Examples of obstacle in a Sentence
He overcame the obstacles of poverty and neglect.
They must overcome a number of obstacles before the restaurant can be opened.
Lack of experience is a major obstacle for her opponent.
She swerved to avoid an obstacle in the road.
Recent Examples of obstacle from the Web
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Melissa is the enemy — Frances and Nick’s romantic obstacle, and monogamy’s cautionary tale.
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Running Orland Park: Pandemonium in the Park, a 5K obstacle course race, will be held Aug. 12 at Centennial Park West, near the intersection of 159th Street and 108th Avenue.
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Other parts of the local economy face fewer obstacles.
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The biggest hit of the morning was the finale: an elaborate full-court obstacle course that kids ran through one-by-one as the entire crowd cheered them on.
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But my biggest obstacle from perfectly even dices wasn’t myself.
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Troika can recognize its location inside the airport terminal and navigate around passers-by and obstacles, said Kim Hyoungrock, the chief research engineer at LG Electronics who oversaw the robot’s development.
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NBN aims to minimize or remove the financial, logistical, professional and social obstacles that new immigrants to Israel face, according to the organization's website www.nbn.org.il.
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Although ultimately successful, the research was not without obstacles.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'obstacle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
OBSTACLE Defined for English Language Learners
obstacle
playDefinition of obstacle for English Language Learners
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: something that makes it difficult to do something
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: an object that you have to go around or over : something that blocks your path
OBSTACLE Defined for Kids
Learn More about obstacle
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See words that rhyme with obstacle Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for obstacle Spanish Central: Translation of obstacle Nglish: Translation of obstacle for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of obstacle for Arabic speakers
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