blockade 1 of 2

as in siege
the cutting off of an area by military means to stop the flow of people or supplies it was the blockade of all the enemy's major ports that finally won the war

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

blockade

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to guard
to disallow entry into (a place) by means of a physical barrier at the entry point the militant protestors blockaded the whole area around city hall

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in to besiege
to surround (as a fortified place) with armed forces for the purpose of capturing or preventing commerce and communication blockaded the city until it surrendered

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of blockade
Noun
In one of the cases in which Antifa International intervened, dozens of activists in London last year physically prevented a busload of immigrants from being transported to a barge off southern England by slashing the vehicle’s tires and forming a blockade around the passenger bus for seven hours. Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 27 Oct. 2025 Continue reading … SIEGE WARNING – Taiwan general warns China’s military drills could be preparation for blockade or war. FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet blockaded Ukrainian ports, occupied Snake Island, and threatened Odessa, the country’s main coastal city. Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2025 The education ministry said around 100 schools were disrupted and 27 fully blockaded. Saskya Vandoorne, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for blockade
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blockade
Noun
  • Rudolph studied the Ruby Ridge standoff, the siege at Waco, and the Oklahoma City bombing.
    John Archibald, New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Ghosts from the conflict between Union and Confederate forces are said to haunt McRaven House, an antebellum home in Vicksburg, Mississippi, which was once the scene of a grisly 43-day siege.
    Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The slick lobby was guarded by uniformed doormen and the elevator took me to a long polished corridor leading to a big mahogany door.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025
  • The podcast allows Kylie to walk the line between sharing details about her family and guarding her privacy.
    Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Made in Italy is besieged, and action must be taken to safeguard the local supply chain and its reputation.
    Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Since its municipal establishment in 2018, Roku City has been a metropolis intermittently besieged by mythical creatures including a kraken, a big robot, and a Godzilla-like kaiju.
    Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • In October alone, shoppers were attacked in a supermarket, a Spanish tourist was scratched by a cub at a heritage site, and a trail runner was forced to wrestle a bear in the woods before sprinting to safety.
    Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles into Israel in response and attacked the Middle East's largest American military base in Qatar.
    MSNBC Newsweek, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Early on, federal agents guarding the building deployed tear gas and shot pepper balls in clashes with protesters and arrested some of them, including some charged with felonies on suspicion of assaulting or blocking officers.
    Nicquel Terry Ellis, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2025
  • At one point, the seventh-grader was assaulted, leaving bruises.
    Mikelle Street, Them., 31 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Blockade.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blockade. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on blockade

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!