filibuster

noun fil·i·bus·ter \ ˈfi-lə-ˌbə-stər \

Definition of filibuster

1 :an irregular military adventurer; specifically :an American engaged in fomenting insurrections in Latin America in the mid-19th century

[²filibuster]

a :the use of extreme dilatory (see dilatory 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.

See filibuster defined for English-language learners

See filibuster defined for kids

Examples of filibuster in a Sentence

They engaged in a filibuster that lasted for over a week.

Recent Examples of filibuster from the Web

A Senate filibuster killed the bill; Wilson armed the ships anyway.

— garrett epps, The Atlantic, "Trump Doesn't Have the Authority to Attack North Korea Without Congress," 30 Aug. 2017
And the donkey party has enough votes in the Senate to mount a filibuster against any bill that does.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "The Republican Budget Fight, Explained in 5 Minutes," 24 Aug. 2017
Since Republicans are defending just eight Senate positions versus 25 for the Democrats, a net gain of just eight (atop today’s 52 GOP senators) would secure a filibuster-proof majority.

— deroy murdock, National Review, "Washington Republicans Have Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself," 29 July 2017
These rules limit debate, preclude a filibuster and allow passage with a simple majority vote.

— the new york times, NOLA.com, "Senate heads toward health care bill vote on Tuesday," 24 July 2017
Concerns about the political costs are so deep that some Republicans may join Democrats in a filibuster to block debate.

— alex altman, PEOPLE.com, "‘This Bill’s Gotten Worse’: New Senate GOP Health Plan Struggles to Win Over Critics on Either Side of the Aisle," 13 July 2017
Republicans plan to use the fast-track budget reconciliation process for the tax bill to get around a potential Democratic filibuster in the Senate.

— anna edgerton, Bloomberg.com, "House Conservatives Hold Budget Hostage Over Tax Plan Details," 12 July 2017
The strict rules governing the budget reconciliation process, which McConnell plans to use to avoid a Democratic filibuster, also create their own problems.

— abigail tracy, The Hive, "Is Trumpcare Headed for Another Humiliating Defeat?," 26 June 2017
There are 52 Republicans in the Senate, eight members short of a filibuster-proof majority.

— joshua stewart, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Rep. Duncan Hunter: The rest of Trump's agenda depends on Senate passing health care bill," 19 June 2017

These 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.

Origin and Etymology of filibuster

Spanish filibustero, literally, freebooter

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1851

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Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

filibuster

verb

Definition of filibuster

filibustered; filibustering play \ˈfi-lə-ˌbə-st(ə-)riŋ\

intransitive verb

1 :to carry out insurrectionist activities in a foreign country

2 :to engage in a filibuster

transitive verb

:to subject to a filibuster

—

filibusterer

play \ˈfi-lə-ˌbə-stər-ər\ noun

Recent Examples of filibuster from the Web

But Senate Democrats can — and will — filibuster wall funding.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "The Republican Budget Fight, Explained in 5 Minutes," 24 Aug. 2017
Debate on the Confederate monument bill took over two hours and was drawn out by black legislators, who were trying to filibuster the legislation to a certain extent.

— julia o'donoghue, NOLA.com, "Black legislators disappointed in Louisiana House leadership, including House Democratic chairman," 16 May 2017
Hitherto, filibustering senators had to hold the floor, testing their stamina and inconveniencing everyone else to encourage the majority to compromise.

— george will, Twin Cities, "George Will: Filibuster? Make it more taxing for all," 30 Mar. 2017
Senate Democrats have threatened to filibuster any provision providing money for the wall.

— matthew daly, Orange County Register, "Interior secretary: Border wall ‘complex,’ faces geographic challenges," 29 Mar. 2017
Wisdom about the filibuster comes today from the other side of the Capitol, where House rules make filibustering impossible.

— george f. will, The Denver Post, "End the filibuster’s power of obstruction," 29 Mar. 2017
Senate Republicans went to work, filibustered, and blocked the Fortas nomination.

— john a. farrell, Smithsonian, "The Inside Story of Richard Nixon’s Ugly, 30-Year Feud with Earl Warren," 21 Mar. 2017
But that requires the approval of the Senate, which remains afflicted by the presence of some 48 Democrats—enough to filibuster and stonewall Trump’s legislative priorities, including the wall.

— tina nguyen, vanityfair.com, "Hundreds of Companies Are Lining Up to Build Trump’s Unfunded Wall," 16 Mar. 2017

Origin and Etymology of filibuster

see ¹filibuster

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1851

See Words from the same year

FILIBUSTER Defined for English Language Learners

filibuster

noun

Definition of filibuster for English Language Learners

: 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

Law Dictionary

filibuster

noun fil·i·bus·ter \ ˈfi-lə-ˌbəs-tər \

legal Definition of filibuster

: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