Black Bloc

British

noun

an informal grouping of militant, mainly anarchist, protesters who act together during anti-capitalism, anti-war, etc, protests, often wearing black hoods and black clothing

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Those who have sought shelter here are looked after by a rotating cast of young women in black balaclavas — the Bloque Negro, or the Black Bloc.

From Washington Post • Nov. 26, 2020

Authorities said they expected some 2,000 Black Bloc protesters from France and across Europe to turn up on the sidelines of the traditional May Day union rallies.

From Reuters • May 1, 2019

More than a thousand members of the far-left Black Bloc movement came to the demonstrations in Paris dressed in dark hoodies and balaclavas.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 2, 2018

Berkeley campus police had never encountered Black Bloc tactics before Wednesday, Reich said, “something we’ll have to prepare for and address going forward.”

From Seattle Times • Feb. 7, 2017

In another, soccer superstar Neymar da Silva Santos wears a face mask used by members of Black Bloc, an anarchist group that opposes the World Cup.

From Newsweek

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023