filibuster
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfɪlɪbʌstə(ɹ)/
ipa: /ˈfɪləbʌstɚ/
Forms: form: filibusters
form: filibustering
form: filibustered
form: filibustered
Etymology: Borrowed from Spanish filibustero (“pirate”), from French flibustier, ultimately from Dutch vrijbuiter (“freebooter”), from vrij (“free”) + buit (“booty”) + -er (“agent”). The alteration in the first syllable in French is due to the word's being somewhat conflated with vlieboot (“light, flat-bottomed cargo vessel with two or three masts”) when it was borrowed into French or another language from Dutch. The word is cognate and analogous to English freebooter.
Senses: examples: text: According to U.S. law, filibustering was a violation of the Neutrality Law of 1818, which prohibited the organization within the United States of any armed force that intended to attack a friendly foreign power. The American government attempted, through the enforcement of this law, to prevent its citizens from filibustering, mostly by preventing potential filibustering groups from organizing and collecting arms for future operations.
ref: 2012, William H. Brown, “Central America, Filibusters”, in Thomas M. Leonard, editor, Encyclopedia of U.S.–Latin American Relations, volumes 1 (A–E), Thousand Oaks, Calif.: CQ Press; London: SAGE Publications, →ISBN, page 150, column 2:
glosses: To take part in a private military action in a foreign country.
examples: text: But as the case had dragged on interminably, and he believed, and the world believed, and the Canadians themselves knew, that they intended to filibuster and postpone as long as possible, he took the common-sense way to a settlement.
ref: 1919, William Roscoe Thayer, chapter 11, in Theodore Roosevelt: An Intimate Biography, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company, →OCLC:
text: 1901—Senator Carter successfully filibustered a river and harbor bill because it failed to include certain additional appropriations.
ref: 1957, Special Subcommittee on Amendments to Rule XXII, Committee on Rules and Administration, United States Senate, Proposed Amendments to Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, Relating to Cloture: Hearings before a Special Subcommittee on Rules and Administration, United States Senate, Eighty-fifth Congress, First Session, on S. Res. 17, S. Res. 19, S. Res. 21, S. Res. 28, S. Res. 29, S. Res. 30, S. Res. 32, S. Res. 171, Resolutions Proposing Amendments to Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate. June 17, 24, 25, 28, July 2, 9, 16, 1957, Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 305:
text: No longer do filibustering Senators take the floor and speak until they are physically unable to filibuster any longer. Now, a filibuster typically begins when a Senator or group of Senators signals their intent to filibuster – which can be done by a private conversation with the majority leader or by quietly placing a bill or nomination on hold. Given the modern Senate's scarce floor time, this threat is usually enough to table the disputed issue until the dissenting Senators cave or until there are definitely enough votes to invoke cloture.
ref: 2010 April 22, Mimi Murray Digby Marziani, Diana Lee, “Statement for the Record, Brennan Center for Justice, New York, NY”, in Examining the Filibuster: Hearings before the Committee on Rules and Administration, United States Senate, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, April 22, 2010, May 19, 2010, June 23, 2010, July 28, 2010, and September 22 and 29, 2010 (S. Hrg. 111-706), Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →ISBN, page 112:
text: Meanwhile, back in Eastleigh, away from the filibustering in Westminster, Chris Huhne was able to concentrate on constituency business.
ref: 2012 January 20, Ray Turner, “Daylight Saving Bill runs out of time…”, in Eastleigh News:
text: So it was that the day before Trump’s big unveiling, Democrat Jeff Merkley publicly vowed to filibuster whomever the president named.
ref: 2017 February 1, Michelle Cottle, “Why the Filibuster Is a Senator's Best Friend”, in The Atlantic, retrieved 09 Feb 2025:
glosses: To use obstructionist tactics in a legislative body.