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

Paris Jackson's ongoing battle against the executors of her late father Michael Jackson's sizable estate has hit a roadblock. —Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Nov. 2025

New research from Bellaiche and fellow U of A physicists Kinnary Patel and Sergey Prosandeev shows a promising way around that roadblock. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 14 Nov. 2025

One promising design uses sulfur, which could boost battery capacity significantly, though some key roadblocks remain before it can be widely used. —Golareh Jalilvand, The Conversation, 12 Nov. 2025

Chinese builders hit roadblocks in the Gulf Chinese construction companies are looking to the Middle East in the wake of a domestic property slowdown, but are running into roadblocks in the unfamiliar market. —Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 11 Nov. 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