filibuster
n.n. a long speech or series of speeches in a parliament to delay a vote or stop a law from passing. It is a way to use time to influence a decision.
n. a procedural tactic used in legislative bodies to delay or prevent a vote on a bill by speaking for an extended period. Often used to block legislation that the minority party opposes.
The senator used a filibuster to stop the new tax law.
The minority party launched a last-minute filibuster to force the government to reconsider the proposed budget cuts.
While the tradition of the filibuster is seen by some as a vital check on majority power, others argue it has become a tool for obstruction that paralyzes the legislative process.
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 19, 2026