obstacle
French, noun/ɔp.stakl/
obstacle is spelled O-B-S-T-A-C-L-E (8 letters) and appears 9.8 times per million words in written French, the 6,801st most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Obstacle is a French masculine noun meaning “obstacle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Ce qui empêche de passer”.
What does obstacle mean in English?
noun
- 1
masculineobstacle
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Ce qui empêche de passer. 2. Sorte de barrière que l'on installe sur le parcours de certaines courses. 3. Ce qui empêche qu’une personne n’arrive à son but, ne parvienne à ses fins ou qu’une chose ne se fasse, ne réussisse.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of obstacle
- obstacles plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce obstacle?
- /ɔp.stakl/
- \ɔp.stakl\
- [ɔp.stakl]
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to obstacle
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is obstacle in French?
obstacle appears 9.8 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).