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

Its roadblocks aren't rooted in feasibility, but in design maturity and mindset. —Akhilesh Sharma, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025

Returning from major elbow surgery is full of roadblocks and setbacks. —Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2025

And earlier this month, President Donald Trump — despite a public and vitriolic falling out with Musk in June — issued an executive order that appears designed to scale back roadblocks and regulatory oversight for private-sector rocket operations, including environmental reviews. —Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2025

The Ottawa Citizen reported that Canada’s Defense Minister David McGuinty said that outdated restrictions and roadblocks had been removed during a July visit to the North American Aerospace Defense Command headquarters in Colorado. —Chad De Guzman, Time, 14 Aug. 2025

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