roadblock C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction US /ˈroʊdˌblɑk/ UK /ˈrəʊdblɒk/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a barrier across a road; an obstacle to progress Funding became the main roadblock to the project's launch. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a barrier across a road; an... barrierobstacleobstructionbarricadeimpedimenthindrance Word family Related forms roadblock Etymology AI details A 20th-century compound of road (from Old English rād, 'a riding, journey') + block (from Old French bloc, of Germanic origin). rād Old English View etymology graph -> Topics Space, Position & Direction External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # roadblock **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈroʊdˌblɑk/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈrəʊdblɒk/ ## Meanings 1. a barrier across a road; an obstacle to progress ## Examples - Funding became the main roadblock to the project's launch. ## Synonyms - barrier - obstacle - obstruction - barricade - impediment - hindrance ## Related Forms - road - block ## Roots and Affixes - Root: rād ## Etymology A 20th-century compound of road (from Old English rād, 'a riding, journey') + block (from Old French bloc, of Germanic origin). ## AI Etymology Roadblock is from a 20th-century compound of road (from Old English rād, 'a riding, journey') + block (from Old French bloc, of Germanic origin). The historical chain includes Old English rād. Older glosses in the chain include "a riding, journey", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, roadblock is best read as compound and borrowing, yielding an English noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a noun, with the sense "a barrier across a road; an obstacle to progress". related forms include road and block. The result is an English noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning. ## Topics - Space, Position & Direction markdown