Meaning & use
roadblock
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Meanings
nouncountable
A barrier placed across a road by police or soldiers to stop and check vehicles.
Grammar: Used with set up or at: a roadblock on the highway.
Patterns
- set up a roadblock
- a roadblock on something
Police set up a roadblock on the highway to search for the stolen truck.
Drivers waited an hour at the roadblock outside the town.
A roadblock stopped traffic after the flood.
nouncountablefigurative
Something that stops or slows progress toward a goal.
Grammar: Figurative; often with hit or run into: hit a roadblock.
Patterns
- hit a roadblock
- a roadblock to something
Lack of funding became a roadblock to the project.
The talks hit a roadblock over wages.
She ran into a roadblock when her visa was delayed.
Word forms
| plural | roadblocks |
|---|
Common combinations
- hit a roadblock
- The investigation hit a roadblock.
- set up a roadblock
- Officers set up a roadblock near the bridge.
- major roadblock
- Cost is a major roadblock for small farms.
- police roadblock
- A police roadblock closed the main street.
- remove a roadblock
- New funding helped remove the roadblock.
Synonyms and how they differ
- obstacle
- Obstacle is a general word for anything in the way, while roadblock suggests something that completely stops movement.
- barrier
- Barrier suggests a lasting division, like a social or legal one.
- hurdle
- Hurdle implies a problem that can be overcome with effort.
- checkpoint
- A checkpoint is a place where traffic is checked and may be open, while a roadblock stops it.
Word family
Commonly confused: roadblock or detour?
roadblock vs detour
A detour is an alternative route, whereas a roadblock stops you from going the usual way.
Practice
The project hit a ___ when the permit was refused.
Choose one answer.
A roadblock is something that stops progress. A roadmap is a plan, roadway is a road, and a road trip is a journey.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “roadblock”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.