blockade
n. countablen. an action that stops people or supplies from entering or leaving a place. It is often used by ships or soldiers to cut off a city or country.
n. an act of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving. In medical contexts, refers to the physiological obstruction of a pathway or the inhibition of a biological process.
The navy set up a blockade to stop ships from entering.
The city faced severe food shortages after the military blockade cut off all major supply routes for three months.
The pharmacological blockade of specific receptors allows researchers to observe how the nervous system functions when certain chemical signals are completely absent.
From block + -ade, probably after Dutch blocquade (now blokkade) or German Blockade.
Commonly used with the verbs 'impose', 'lift', or 'break'.