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

In a world racing toward electrified transportation, one stubborn roadblock remains – limited charging infrastructure. —Pranjal Malewar, New Atlas, 18 Oct. 2025

Tahsin Mansour, once mayor of the Palestinian village of Azzoun, now lives isolated by war and a roadblock that turned his home into an enclave. —Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 17 Oct. 2025

Early financial planning can also help avoid major roadblocks during crises later on in life, D’Alleva Valas said. —Dave Smith, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2025

Some, like Elon Musk’s Tesla, have hit roadblocks this year. —Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 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