bloc

noun

\ ˈbläk

Definition of bloc

1a : a temporary combination of parties in a legislative assembly

b : a group of legislators who act together for some common purpose irrespective of party lines

2a : a combination of persons, groups, or nations forming a unit with a common interest or purpose a bloc of voters

b : a group of nations united by treaty or agreement for mutual support or joint action

3 : a quantity, number, or section of things dealt with as a unit : block … seeking to buy and sell a large bloc of shares …— Stuart Washington Potvin's outstanding bloc of games during his rookie campaign occurred during the 1993 playoffs.— Stan Fischler

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Examples of bloc in a Sentence

a voting bloc in the senate a whole bloc of students got together to complain

Recent Examples on the Web

European Union chief Donald Tusk said Monday that 14 member-nations of the political bloc would expel Russian diplomatic staff over the Skripals' poisoning. — Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, "U.S. expels 60 Russian diplomats after Sergei Skripal poisoning: What we know," 26 Mar. 2018 Poland is the biggest economy in the former Soviet bloc and the seventh largest in the European Union. — Mateusz Morawiecki, WSJ, "Meet the Polish Tiger," 30 Sep. 2018 The gathering ended with President Donald Trump broadsiding allies via Twitter, undermining the bloc and potentially causing fresh friction over trade. — Fortune, "Watch Out: This Could Be the World Economy's Most Important Week of 2018," 11 June 2018 Some others seek to rule out a no-deal Brexit so Britain can’t tumble out of the bloc on March 29 without an agreement in place to cushion the shock. — Danica Kirka, The Seattle Times, "UK leader under new pressure to secure EU Brexit concessions," 29 Jan. 2019 If Parliament can’t settle on an outcome that is also acceptable to the EU, the U.K. could drop out of the bloc on March 29 without a withdrawal agreement, disrupting trade and travel. — Stephen Fidler, WSJ, "Brexit’s Looming Impact," 21 Jan. 2019 The divisions have tested the patience of European Union leaders, who say the risk of Britain crashing out of the bloc without a deal -- the scenario most feared by businesses -- is rising. — Andrew Atkinson, Bloomberg.com, "Pressure Grows on May Before Key Brexit Gathering," 1 July 2018 With a rise of anti-immigrant parties in Europe, the EU has been forced to search even harder for a consensus on the core principles of the bloc. — The Christian Science Monitor, "EU’s migrant plan is about more than migrants," 29 June 2018 Eleven nations in Asia and the Americas on Dec. 30 started their own bloc of tariff rates and trade rules dubbed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. — Jacob M. Schlesinger, WSJ, "The Catch-22 of Globalization," 21 Jan. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bloc.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.