blockade
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
Letters
8 characters
Language
English
word origin
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Detailed reference entry for the English word "blockade", 8-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "blockade" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "blockade" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
blockade is aEnglishnoun. It means: The physical blocking or surrounding of a place, especially a port, in order to prevent commerce and traffic in or out. Pronounced /blɑˈkeɪd/. Often confused with blocked and brocade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | blockade |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /blɑˈkeɪd/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #13,469 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for blockade is 8 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /blɑˈkeɪd/. Corpus data places it at rank #13,469 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 12 documented wrong-spelling variants for blockade, with forms such as "bblockade", "blcokade", and "bllockade". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "blocked", "brocade", "blockage", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From block + -ade, probably after Dutch blocquade (now blokkade) or German Blockade. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is blockade, spelled B-L-O-C-K-A-D-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1The physical blocking or surrounding of a place, especially a port, in order to prevent commerce and traffic in or out.
- 2Any form of formal isolation or inhibition of something, especially with the force of law or arms.
- 3The ships or other forces used to effect a naval blockade.
- 4Inhibition of the activity (function) of chemical messengers or their receptors, such as (often) receptor antagonism.
- 5The act of preventing an opponent's pawn moving by placing a piece in front of it.
- 6Synonym of prime.
Etymology
From block + -ade, probably after Dutch blocquade (now blokkade) or German Blockade.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: bblockade,blcokade,bllockade,blocakde,blocckade,blockadde,blockaed,blockdae,blockkade,blokcade,bolckade,lbockade
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
Relative frequency of common misspelling types for blockade
Misspelling Variants of "blockade"
Frequency rank: #13,469 in English
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Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter B in our English index: