The steep mountain range presented a formidable obstacle to the early explorers' journey westward.
陡峭的山脉对早期探险者向西的旅程构成了巨大的障碍。
A recent survey of small business owners found that the most commonly cited obstacle to growth was not access to capital, as many assume, but difficulty finding workers with the specific technical skills the business required.
From a Central Ideas and Details question · Information and Ideas
Researchers studying a species of migratory salmon found that individuals fitted with small tracking chips consistently took longer to navigate a series of upstream obstacles than untagged individuals of the same population, monitored via underwater cameras.
From a Inferences question · Information and Ideas
Which choice best defines “obstacle”?
D — Something that blocks way. “obstacle” means something that blocks way.
Which word means “something that blocks way”?
B — obstacle. “obstacle” means something that blocks way.
obstacle — something that blocks way. In Chinese: 障碍.
obstacle is pronounced /ˈɑːbstəkl/.
The steep mountain range presented a formidable obstacle to the early explorers' journey westward. (陡峭的山脉对早期探险者向西的旅程构成了巨大的障碍。)
barrier, hindrance, impediment — all close in meaning to obstacle (something that blocks way).
aid, assistance — each the opposite of obstacle (something that blocks way).
Yes. obstacle is on the SAT Prep Basic list — the everyday academic words the SAT assumes you already have. The Digital SAT does not test vocabulary in isolation; words like this one are tested through Words in Context questions, where you choose the word that completes a passage most logically and precisely.
ob(against)+st(stand)+acle(noun).