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

But roadblocks and other difficulties slow their delivery at nearly every turn. —Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024

President Joe Biden has been working to enact a widespread forgiveness plan, but has hit several roadblocks along the way. —Chris Morris, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2024

Being a strong leader is about empowering your teams, funding their strategies, removing roadblocks and getting out of the way. —Expert Panel®, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024

But a single senator can throw up procedural roadblocks that push the government past the deadline and force a vote days later. —Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024

Job and family demands, non-native English-speaking skills, and other socio-economic roadblocks all play a role in how easy or challenging learning disability testing is for families. —Suzie Glassman, Parents, 15 Mar. 2024

Even though the private-equity experiment with ABA therapy has hit roadblocks, the financial firms continue to target providers for acquisition. —Gretchen Morgenson, NBC News, 14 Mar. 2024

After falling behind in the first half of the leg, the shining moment came at the lasso roadblock. —Journal Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2024

After revising its opening date to January 2024, the project hit another roadblock: funding. —Rebecca Cairns, CNN, 25 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

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