blockading

present participle of blockade
1
as in guarding
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

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2
as in besieging
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

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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 blockading But others describe the reality of the early weeks, where discussion was completely hampered by Israel's insistence on fully blockading aid into Gaza. Tom Bowman, NPR, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blockading
Verb
  • Whomever the safeties were guarding.
    Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Strong support for keeping those requirements comes from existing homeowners guarding the value of their homes, their greatest investment, speakers said.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • And while politicians know that there are costs to besieging an independent central bank – financial markets may react negatively or inflation may flare up – short-term control of a powerful policy tool can prove irresistible.
    Ana Carolina Garriga, The Conversation, 26 Aug. 2025
  • Also great for very, very expensively besieging castles.
    Evan AckermanErico Guizzo, IEEE Spectrum, 29 Jan. 2016
Verb
  • While Qataris may now indeed question the value of their military cooperation with the United States and its designation of Qatar as a major non-NATO ally, Turkey’s military presence in the country also failed to prevent Israel from attacking.
    Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Show Viz Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest had counter-attacking licked.
    Phil Hay, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Blockading.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blockading. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

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