close up, obturate, occlude, impede, obstruct, jam, block - block passage through; "obstruct the path"

prevent, keep - prevent from doing something or being in a certain state; "We must prevent the cancer from spreading"; "His snoring kept me from falling asleep"; "Keep the child from eating the marbles"

interfere - come between so as to be hindrance or obstacle; "Your talking interferes with my work!"

set back - slow down the progress of; hinder; "His late start set him back"

hobble - hamper the action or progress of; "The chairman was hobbled by the all-powerful dean"

stunt - check the growth or development of; "You will stunt your growth by building all these muscles"

block off, blockade - obstruct access to

barricado, barricade - block off with barricades

barricade - prevent access to by barricading; "The street where the President lives is always barricaded"

asphyxiate, suffocate, stifle, choke - impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of; "The foul air was slowly suffocating the children"

tie up - restrain from moving or operating normally; "Traffic is tied up for miles around the bridge where the accident occurred"

dam, dam up - obstruct with, or as if with, a dam; "dam the gorges of the Yangtse River"

block out, screen - prevent from entering; "block out the strong sunlight"

earth up, land up - block with earth, as after a landslide

barricade, block, block up, blockade, block off, bar, stop - render unsuitable for passage; "block the way"; "barricade the streets"; "stop the busy road"

clog, clog up, congest, choke off, foul, back up, choke - become or cause to become obstructed; "The leaves clog our drains in the Fall"; "The water pipe is backed up"

hinder, impede - be a hindrance or obstacle to; "She is impeding the progress of our project"