roadblock

UK: /ˈrəʊdblɒk/ US: /ˈroʊdˌblɑk/ ,(rōd′blok′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

road•block /ˈroʊdˌblɑk/   n. [countable]

1. something placed across a road to halt or slow traffic, as by the police to check cars.
2. anything that slows progress:
   lack of money was a roadblock to her goals.

v. [~ + object]

3. to halt or block with a roadblock:
   They effectively roadblocked our plans.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

road•block  (rōd′blok′), n. 

1. an obstruction placed across a road, esp. of barricades or police cars, for halting or hindering traffic, as to facilitate the capture of a pursued car or inspection for safety violations.
2. an obstruction on a road, as a fallen tree or a pile of fallen rocks.
3. a hastily built barricade, as of barbed wire, erected across a road to hold up the advance of an enemy.
4. an action, condition, etc., that obstructs progress toward an objective:
   Nationalism is a roadblock to European unity.

v.t. 

5. to halt or obstruct with or as if with a roadblock.

• road + block 1935–40

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

roadblock / ˈrəʊdˌblɒk/ noun

1. a barrier set up across a road by the police or military, in order to stop a fugitive, inspect traffic, etc