blockades 1 of 2

plural of blockade
as in sieges
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

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blockades

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of blockade
1
as in guards
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 besieges
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 blockades
Noun
Students are gathering and blocking access near the School of Political Science, while other students are joining the high school student protest movement and the blockades at high schools in Paris, Ile-de-France, France, on October 7, 2026. — Jenni Reid, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026 On Wednesday, more than 500 educational institutions were due to be partially or fully closed because of blockades – a 41% decrease from Tuesday, according to the education ministry. — Joseph Ataman, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2026 More than two weeks of class boycotts and school blockades, and policing that has led to more than 6,100 arrests, mostly of minors, have become a flashpoint in the early days of the presidential election campaign. — ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026 Protests have since expanded across the country, and on Monday, blockades affected some 500 largely public high schools, about 10 percent of the lycées in France. — Ellen Francis, Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2026 The nationwide demonstrations and blockades, which began last week, have become a political flashpoint at a sensitive moment for the government, which announced a series of deeply unpopular spending cuts in its 2027 budget on Thursday. — Reuters, NBC news, 3 Oct. 2026 The latest violence marks a sharp escalation from the unrestt reported by Fox News Digital Thursday, when hundreds had been arrested as school blockades and clashes spread across the country. — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026 The city of Hollywood spent the weekend preparing for more flooding by putting up blockades and panels in neighborhoods prone to flooding to try and prevent as much water as possible from moving inland. — Morgan Rynor, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026 Nearly 30 years later, more than 1,100 were arrested at Fairy Creek, where blockades won temporary protections now set to expire at the end of this month. — Annika Hammerschlag, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Verb
There's no question that the United States has a credible threat of force, but the blockade really blockades ourselves as well as Iran. — ABC News, 26 Apr. 2026 As the United States military blockades the Strait of Hormuz fuel prices rose above $100 dollars a barrel. — Contessa Brewer,dawn Giel, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2026 His death sparked civil unrest in Puerto Vallarta and more than a dozen Mexican states, including Quintana Roo, with cars set on fire and blockades obstructing highways. — Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 25 Feb. 2026 Road blockades, traffic slowdowns and other protests were widespread – from the southern port city of Marseille to Lille and Caen in the north, and from Nantes and Rennes in the west to Grenoble and Lyon in the southeast. — Greg Norman, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blockades
Noun
  • These groups saw the sieges as proof that the federal government was hunting gun owners and religious dissenters.
    — Art Jipson, The Conversation, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Which is why many Americans have begun to tire of the sieges in their communities.
    — Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2026
Verb
  • Klaatu's giant robot sidekick, Gort, then steps out of the vessel, obliterates a load of firearms with his laser eyes, and silently guards the ship as his master is taken to hospital.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • But with Smith now sidelined, Heat rookie guards Tre Donaldson and Ryan Conwell will have an opportunity to play a bigger role in practices and in games this preseason.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The degenerative disease attacks the motor neurons of the brain and spinal cords.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The advertisement, which was released last week, attacks Vang over her attendance record at the meetings of local government bodies including the Sacramento Regional Transit District and Sacramento Transportation Authority.
    — Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Blockades.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blockades. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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