blockage

noun

block·​age ˈblä-kij 

: an act or instance of obstructing : the state of being blocked

a blockage in a coronary artery

Examples of blockage in a Sentence

He had surgery to open up blockages in his arteries.

trying to prevent blockage of the artery

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2013, the Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano nearly drowned when a blockage in his suit’s cooling system flooded his helmet with water. —Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025

Recurrent ulcers can increase the risk of bleeding, or a blockage or a hole forming in the stomach or small intestine. —Alice Callahan, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025

It’s caused by either sudden bleeding in the brain or a blockage of blood flow, which starves brain cells of oxygen. —Sarah Klein, SELF, 16 Jan. 2025

The crescent cells aren't able to flow as freely through the veins, so they get stuck, clumping up to form blockages that result in the incapacitating pain crises Alessia endures. —Zoey Lyttle, People.com, 27 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1724, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

blockage

noun

block·​age ˈbläk-ij 

: an act or instance of blocking : the state of being blocked

a blockage in an artery

Medical Definition

blockage

noun

block·​age ˈbläk-ij 

: the action of blocking or the state of being blocked: as

a

: blockade sense 2

b

: internal resistance to understanding a communicated idea, to learning new material, or to adopting a new mode of response because of existing habitual ways of thinking, perceiving, and acting compare blocking

Legal Definition

blockage

noun

block·​age

: the condition of a large block of items of property (as shares of stock) that requires special valuation for purposes of estate and gift tax because the value of the items sold as a block differs from their value if sold individually