Blocker: Anything that stops you from continuing your work.
Example
"I’m blocked because I don’t have access to the test database."
Why Blocker matters for IT interns
Raise blockers quickly. Staying stuck and silent for days is one of the most common intern mistakes.
Where you will hear it
You will hear this term in the tools and meetings teams use to plan, track, and discuss their work. If someone uses it and you are not sure what they mean in your project, it is completely fine to ask; every team uses terms a little differently.
Related terms
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- Confluence: A documentation tool where teams write pages about projects, processes, decisions and how-to guides.
- Deadline: The date or time by which a piece of work must be finished.
- Deliverable: A specific output you are expected to produce, such as a feature, report, document or presentation.
- Dependency: Something your work relies on that you don’t fully control — another team’s API, access, a decision or…
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Related guides
Frequently asked questions
What is Blocker?
Anything that stops you from continuing your work.
What is an example of Blocker?
"I’m blocked because I don’t have access to the test database."
Why does Blocker matter for IT interns?
Raise blockers quickly. Staying stuck and silent for days is one of the most common intern mistakes.
Explore more internship terms
The IT Internship Glossary explains 199 terms you will hear before and during your internship, with simple definitions and real examples.
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About the author
Dhaivat has 16+ years of experience in the IT industry, working on AI and cloud technologies, project delivery, and engineering leadership. He has interviewed and mentored many interns, wrote The Lost Intern, and runs the non-commercial Career Impact Initiative, mentoring students for free.