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filibuster - 8 dictionary results

fil⋅i⋅bus⋅ter

  [fil-uh-buhs-ter]
Use filibuster in a Sentence
–noun
1. U.S. Politics.
a. the use of irregular or obstructive tactics by a member of a legislative assembly to prevent the adoption of a measure generally favored or to force a decision against the will of the majority.
b. an exceptionally long speech, as one lasting for a day or days, or a series of such speeches to accomplish this purpose.
c. a member of a legislature who makes such a speech.
2. an irregular military adventurer, esp. one who engages in an unauthorized military expedition into a foreign country to foment or support a revolution.
–verb (used without object)
3. U.S. Politics. to impede legislation by irregular or obstructive tactics, esp. by making long speeches.
4. to act as an irregular military adventurer, esp. for revolutionary purposes.
–verb (used with object)
5. U.S. Politics. to impede (legislation) by irregular or obstructive tactics, esp. by making long speeches.
Origin:
1580–90; < Sp filibustero < MF flibustier, var. of fribustier; see freebooter

Related forms:
fil⋅i⋅bus⋅ter⋅er, noun
fil⋅i⋅bus⋅ter⋅ism, noun
fil⋅i⋅bus⋅ter⋅ous, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To filibuster
fil·i·bus·ter   (fĭl'ə-bŭs'tər)   
n.  
    1. The use of obstructionist tactics, especially prolonged speechmaking, for the purpose of delaying legislative action.
    2. An instance of the use of this delaying tactic.
  2. An adventurer who engages in a private military action in a foreign country.
v.   fil·i·bus·tered, fil·i·bus·ter·ing, fil·i·bus·ters

v.   intr.
  1. To use obstructionist tactics in a legislative body.
  2. To take part in a private military action in a foreign country.
v.   tr.
To use a filibuster against (a legislative measure, for example).

[From Spanish filibustero, freebooter, from French flibustier, from Dutch vrijbuiter, pirate; see freebooter.]
fil'i·bus'ter·er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Filibuster

Fil"i*bus`ter\, n. [Sp. flibuster, flibustero, corrupted fr. E. freebooter. See Freebooter.] A lawless military adventurer, especially one in quest of plunder; a freebooter; -- originally applied to buccaneers infesting the Spanish American coasts, but introduced into common English to designate the followers of Lopez in his expedition to Cuba in 1851, and those of Walker in his expedition to Nicaragua, in 1855.

Filibuster

Fil"i*bus*ter\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fillibustered; p. pr. & vb. n. Filibustering.]

1. To act as a filibuster, or military freebooter. --Bartlett.

2. To delay legislation, by dilatory motions or other artifices. [political cant or slang, U.S.] --Bartlett.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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filibuster [(fil-uh-bus-tuhr)]

A strategy employed in the United States Senate, whereby a minority can delay a vote on proposed legislation by making long speeches or introducing irrelevant issues. A successful filibuster can force withdrawal of a bill. Filibusters can be ended only by cloture.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

filibuster  (n.)
1587 as flibutor "pirate," probably ultimately from Du. vrijbuiter "freebooter," used of pirates in the West Indies as Sp. filibustero and Fr. flibustier, either or both of which gave the word to Amer.Eng. (see freebooter). Used 1850s and '60s of lawless adventurers from the U.S. who tried to overthrow Central American countries. The legislative sense is first recorded c.1851, probably because obstructionist legislators "pirated" debate. Not technically restricted to U.S. Senate, but that's where the strategy works best.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: fil·i·bus·ter
Pronunciation: 'fi-l&-"b&s-t&r
Function: noun
: the use of extreme dilatory tactics in an attempt to delay or prevent action esp. in a legislative assembly; also : an instance of this practice

Main Entry: filibuster
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: -tered; -ter·ing
intransitive verb : to engage in a filibuster transitive verb : to subject to a filibuster
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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