obstruct
/əbˈstɹʌkt/verb
obstruct is spelled O-B-S-T-R-U-C-T: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 25,751st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, obstruct means “To block or fill (a passage) with obstacles or an obstacle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in obstruct?
| Letters | 8: O-B-S-T-R-U-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 25,751st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is obstruct?
Obstruct appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 25,751st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce obstruct?
- US /əbˈstɹʌkt/
- Australia /əbˈstɹɐkt/
Obstruct has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-obstruct.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with obstruct?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as obstruct from its last stressed vowel (/ʌkt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of obstruct
- obstructs present, singular, he/she/it
- obstructing participle, present
- obstructed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does obstruct mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To block or fill (a passage) with obstacles or an obstacle.
- 2
To impede, retard, or interfere with; hinder.
They obstructed my progress.
- 3
To get in the way of so as to hide from sight.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Obstruct in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | obstruer , bloquer, retarder, interférer , éclipser |
| German | behindern, versperren |
| Portuguese | obstruir, trancar, entupir , ocultar |
| Spanish | entorpecer, estorbar, atorar, obstruir , impedir |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does obstruct come from?
From Latin past participle stem obstruct- (“blocked up”), from verb obstruere, from ob (“against”) + struere (“pile up, build”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).