1
a
: 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
2
a
: 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
Stuart WashingtonPotvin's outstanding bloc of games during his rookie campaign occurred during the 1993 playoffs.—Stan Fischler
Stan FischlerSynonyms
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
Critically, the bloc of voters most angry with Biden over his support for Israel is coming from groups which backed him by wide margins in 2020, but are fiercely opposed to how the president has handled the war.
—Douglas Schoen, Orange County Register, 11 Apr. 2024
Cameron resigned after voters narrowly rejected his call to remain in the bloc.
—Compiled By Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 10 Apr. 2024
Local Democratic Party officials, several of whom also benefited from endorsements and paid campaign advertising from LIUNA Local 89, similarly declined to discuss the union’s leverage with the single largest voter-registration bloc in San Diego County.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2024
On the Republican side, the votes for Haley are a sign that there is still a bloc of Republican voters who are not ready to vote for Trump.
—Mansee Khurana, NPR, 3 Apr. 2024
The delegations supporting the new proposal say that greater flexibility of the rules is needed, partly due to the increase in the EU’s brown bear population since the bloc enacted the Habitats Directive in 1992.
—Billy Stockwell, CNN, 30 Mar. 2024
Overnight, and against the will of its leaders, the country abandoned its economic model—as the Anglo-Saxon gateway to the world’s largest trading bloc—and replaced it with nothing at all.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
In fact, the Biden administration has outsourced much of the responsibility for Myanmar to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a 10-country regional bloc of which Myanmar is a member.
—Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
The alleged fraud is likely to renew concerns about the misuse of the EU’s €800-billion recovery fund to help revive the bloc’s economy.
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
Douglas Schoen, Orange County Register, 11 Apr. 2024
Cameron resigned after voters narrowly rejected his call to remain in the bloc.
—Compiled By Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 10 Apr. 2024
Local Democratic Party officials, several of whom also benefited from endorsements and paid campaign advertising from LIUNA Local 89, similarly declined to discuss the union’s leverage with the single largest voter-registration bloc in San Diego County.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2024
On the Republican side, the votes for Haley are a sign that there is still a bloc of Republican voters who are not ready to vote for Trump.
—Mansee Khurana, NPR, 3 Apr. 2024
The delegations supporting the new proposal say that greater flexibility of the rules is needed, partly due to the increase in the EU’s brown bear population since the bloc enacted the Habitats Directive in 1992.
—Billy Stockwell, CNN, 30 Mar. 2024
Overnight, and against the will of its leaders, the country abandoned its economic model—as the Anglo-Saxon gateway to the world’s largest trading bloc—and replaced it with nothing at all.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
In fact, the Biden administration has outsourced much of the responsibility for Myanmar to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a 10-country regional bloc of which Myanmar is a member.
—Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
The alleged fraud is likely to renew concerns about the misuse of the EU’s €800-billion recovery fund to help revive the bloc’s economy.
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bloc.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near bloc
Cite this Entry
“Bloc.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bloc. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bloc
noun
: a combination of persons, groups, or nations united by treaty, agreement, or common interest
a bloc of voters
Etymology
French, literally, "block"
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share