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Glite Dictionary
military blockade

military blockade

1 6.7
Soldiers or ships surround a place to stop supplies and force it to give up
  • noun
  • /ˈmɪlɪˌtɛri bləˈkeɪd/
translation icon : bloqueo militar
  • In July, Israel instituted a military blockade of Beirut, leading to intense diplomatic efforts to avert an all-out battle for the capital.

Examples

  • The Security Council can declare a military blockade if the committee decides the boycott is not being honored, and urge member states to enforce it.

  • You can get through the military blockade, no one will ever know...

    Battle of the Damned (2013)

  • He mentioned, for example, that the Indigenous communities brought their knowledge of traditional medicine, the Black communities shared their experience in negotiating territorial rights, and the villagers from San José talked about their strategies for surviving during military blockades.

    Academic text (2008)

  • In October 1962, President Kennedy set up a military blockade to compel the Soviet Union to remove its ballistic missiles from Cuba.

Synonyms

siege
vsmilitary blockade
139 6.8

A military attack that surrounds a place and stops supplies to make those inside give up

is more likely to include continued attacks as part of the action
blockade
vsmilitary blockade
72 5.8

An action that stops people and goods entering or leaving a place, often during war

is an action by armed forces that adds pressure to force surrender
encirclement
vsmilitary blockade
  • Specialized
2 7.5

Surrounding a place or army to cut off supplies and stop escape

is aimed at forcing surrender and often includes sustained attack rather than mere isolation
beleaguering
vsmilitary blockade
  • Specialized
9.9

A military action that surrounds a fort or city and cuts off its supplies

is more about isolating and forcing surrender even without constant attack
besieging
vsmilitary blockade
9.2

Surrounding a town or fort and attacking it to make the people inside surrender

is broader and can focus on isolating and pressuring rather than full attack
blockading
vsmilitary blockade
7.8

Surrounding a port with ships to stop ships entering or leaving

is broader land or sea action focusing on forcing surrender and isolating targets

How Complete

military blockade
1 6.7
to blockade
9 6.0

Surface Forms

military blockade singular
military blockades plural

Morphology

military + blockade

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'military' (related to soldiers/war) with 'blockade' (isolating a place); a B1 learner who knows both words will understand this refers to a blockade carried out by armed forces to isolate or restrict access. This is a regular adjective + noun composition with no idiomatic shift and similar constructions occur in other languages, so the expression is immediately comprehensible from its parts.

Etymology

Military blockade paints a strong picture: military forces or ships form a ring around a town or port to stop food, fuel and other help from getting in. So, it means 'to surround and cut off a place' and often 'to force surrender'.