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
The visits are being used to decide whether the bloc should impose higher import tariffs on Chinese automakers to head off the threat to native manufacturers, who are so far unable to compete on price.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 24 Apr. 2024
In 2023, China succeeded in expanding the BRICS (a bloc of major emerging economies named after its initial members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), adding five new countries.
—Evan S. Medeiros, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
Second, a reduction in the trade imbalance — Chinese goods exports to the EU exceeded its imports from the 27-nation bloc by 291 billion euros ($310 billion) last year.
—Ken Moritsugu, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024
And surveys have shown a striking generational divide within this bloc, driven by what many young people see as broken campaign promises and what party leaders have suggested is a difficulty in communicating Mr. Biden’s accomplishments to voters.
—Maya King, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Members of that bloc forced the party to take 15 rounds to elect Speaker Kevin McCarthy in January 2023, instigated the ousting of McCarthy last October and now threaten to get rid of Johnson, too.
—Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 16 Apr. 2024
The European Union, which gave Georgia candidate status in December, has said the move is incompatible with the bloc’s values.
—Reuters, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
The other members of the court's liberal bloc are Protasiewicz, Rebecca Dallet and Jill Karofsky.
—Jessie Opoien, Journal Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2024
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
Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 24 Apr. 2024
In 2023, China succeeded in expanding the BRICS (a bloc of major emerging economies named after its initial members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), adding five new countries.
—Evan S. Medeiros, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
Second, a reduction in the trade imbalance — Chinese goods exports to the EU exceeded its imports from the 27-nation bloc by 291 billion euros ($310 billion) last year.
—Ken Moritsugu, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024
And surveys have shown a striking generational divide within this bloc, driven by what many young people see as broken campaign promises and what party leaders have suggested is a difficulty in communicating Mr. Biden’s accomplishments to voters.
—Maya King, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Members of that bloc forced the party to take 15 rounds to elect Speaker Kevin McCarthy in January 2023, instigated the ousting of McCarthy last October and now threaten to get rid of Johnson, too.
—Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 16 Apr. 2024
The European Union, which gave Georgia candidate status in December, has said the move is incompatible with the bloc’s values.
—Reuters, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
The other members of the court's liberal bloc are Protasiewicz, Rebecca Dallet and Jill Karofsky.
—Jessie Opoien, Journal Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2024
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
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 1 May. 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