filibuster
noun
fil·i·bus·ter
| \ ˈfi-lə-ˌbə-stər
\
\
Definition of filibuster
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: an irregular military adventurer
specifically
: an American engaged in fomenting insurrections in Latin America in the mid-19th century
2 [ 2filibuster ]
a
: the use of extreme dilatory (see dilatory sense 1) tactics (as by making long speeches) in an attempt to delay or prevent action especially in a legislative assembly
b
: an instance of this practice
The filibuster delayed the voting on the bill for over a week.
filibuster
verb
filibustered;
filibustering\ ˈfi-lə-ˌbə-st(ə-)riŋ
\
\
Definition of filibuster (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: to carry out insurrectionist activities in a foreign country
2
: to engage in a filibuster
: to subject to a filibuster
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Other Words from filibuster
Verb
filibusterer
\ ˈfi-lə-ˌbə-stər-ər
\
noun
\
noun
Examples of filibuster in a Sentence
Noun
They engaged in a filibuster that lasted for over a week.Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
This is all very similar to what Sanders says about pushing for his goals, even absent filibuster-proof control of Congress, with the support of a revolutionary grassroots. — Osita Nwanevu, The New Yorker, "Moderate Democrats’ Surprising Embrace of Elizabeth Warren at the Democratic Debate," 27 June 2019 During the 1850s, American filibusters—the Spanish word for pirates—attempted to conquer Cuba, Northern Mexico and Central America. — Adam Rowe, WSJ, "‘William Walker’s Wars’ Review: A Man in Search of an Empire," 9 June 2019 Ms Warren has endorsed eliminating the filibuster, as has Mr Buttigieg. — The Economist, "Democrats running for president are selling plans to transform America," 6 June 2019 Yes, first by taking away the filibuster from Mitch McConnell, to start with. — Time Staff, Time, "Here's Everything the Candidates Said at Wednesday's 2020 Democratic Presidential Debate," 11 May 2019 And Democrats are unlikely to have a filibuster-proof Senate supermajority any time soon. — David Roberts, Vox, "After the midterms, US climate politics are even more polarized. Here’s how Dems can move forward.," 12 Nov. 2018 Some of her plan’s details, like the elimination of the Senate filibuster, might have difficulty finding legislator support, even if Warren had Democratic control over both houses of Congress. — Alejandro De La Garza, Time, "Elizabeth Warren Unveils New Plan to Reduce U.S. Gun Deaths by 80%," 11 Aug. 2019 After the longest filibuster in U.S. Senate history -- lasting 14 hours and 13 minutes by segregationist Robert Byrd -- the act passed the Senate. — Leah Asmelash And Brian Ries, CNN, "On this day 55 years ago, America finally outlawed segregation," 2 July 2019 Inslee suggested eliminating the filibuster — which the president cannot do and which would strengthen McConnell’s hand if the GOP remained in the majority. — Nicholas Riccardi, The Denver Post, "Takeaways from the first Democratic presidential debate," 27 June 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Conservatives are looking to filibuster in the upper chamber to block it, and more than 100 amendments have been tabled by Conservative peers. — Adam Rasmi, Quartz, "The UK parliament just voted to delay Brexit—for the third time," 4 Sep. 2019 That bill died after Senate Republicans threatened to filibuster and run out the clock. — Russell Blair, courant.com, "Capitol Week in Review: Tolls vote still looming as General Assembly session ends," 7 June 2019 So as long as Mitch McConnell is willing to filibuster everything, no legislation, including climate legislation, can pass. — David Roberts, Vox, "We might get a climate debate after all. Here are 10 questions to ask candidates.," 3 July 2019 Republicans filibustered a Democratic spending bill that year and used the disappearing quorum to frustrate the majority’s efforts. — Kyle Sammin, National Review, "Oregon Democrats Outsource Their Duty to Drag Republicans Back to the Legislature," 28 June 2019 Of course, a Republican Senate might filibuster, adding another hurdle. — Robinson Woodward-burns, Washington Post, "The Equal Rights Amendment is one state from ratification. Now what?," 20 June 2018 Dyer introduced the bill at each subsequent session, and in 1922, the bill passed the House only to be filibustered in the Senate. — P.r. Lockhart, Vox, "By passing the Justice for Victims of Lynching Act this week, the Senate acknowledged its role in decades of racial terrorism.," 21 Dec. 2018 And though Democrats did not filibuster Bork’s nomination, the process helped lead to recent efforts by both parties to limit the minority party’s filibuster rights on nominations. — Jm Rieger, Washington Post, "How years of fighting — and hypocrisy — over Senate filibuster rules led to this moment," 5 July 2018 Louis, threatened to filibuster every House bill besides the state's budget until impeachment proceedings begin. — Jason Hancock, Allison Kite And Bryan Lowry, kansascity, "He gave Eric Greitens $2 million. Now he wants the governor to resign | The Kansas City Star," 12 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'filibuster.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for filibuster
filibuster
noun
English Language Learners Definition of filibuster
chiefly US
: an effort to prevent action in a legislature (such as the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives) by making a long speech or series of speeches
See the full definition for filibuster in the English Language Learners Dictionary
filibuster
noun
fil·i·bus·ter
| \ ˈfi-lə-ˌbəs-tər
\
\
Legal Definition of filibuster
(Entry 1 of 2)
: the use of extreme dilatory tactics in an attempt to delay or prevent action especially in a legislative assembly
also
: an instance of this practice
filibuster
verb
filibustered;
filibustering
Legal Definition of filibuster (Entry 2 of 2)
: to engage in a filibuster
: to subject to a filibuster
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