cloture

[ kloh-cher ]

/ ˈkloʊ tʃər /

U.S. Parliamentary Procedure

noun

a method of closing a debate and causing an immediate vote to be taken on the question.

verb (used with or without object), clo·tured, clo·tur·ing.

to close (a debate) by cloture.

Nearby words

clotilda, clottage, clotted cream, clotting factor, clotty, cloture, clou, cloud, cloud banner, cloud base, cloud chamber

Origin of cloture

1870–75; < French clôture, Middle French closture < Vulgar Latin *clōstūra, alteration of Latin clōstra, claustra, plural of claustrum barrier. See claustral, -ure

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cloture

The little pests will go on to a supposedly prestigious institution (the Senate) choked in ivy (or cloture debate).
The Federal Government Has Violated My Right to Chainsaw|P. J. O’Rourke|April 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The big turning point in the vote seemed to be when both McConnell and Cornyn supported the cloture vote.
Senate Raises Debt Ceiling After GOP 'Dysfunction'|Ben Jacobs|February 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Finally, in 1917, a cloture vote, which could end the filibuster by a two-thirds vote of the Senate, was enacted.
Senate Democrats Didn’t Go Far Enough to Kill the Filibuster|Dean Obeidallah|November 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
By a 61-30 vote, the Senate voted for cloture Monday evening on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA.
Gay Rights Bill Advances in Senate|Ben Jacobs|November 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Senators from both parties had already predicted that the authorization to use force in Syria would require a cloture vote.
Syria War Resolution Will Require 60 Votes in Senate|Josh Rogin|September 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
To prevent this Mr. Mason wishes a rule of cloture (or closure, as it is called in England) adopted.
The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 27, May 13, 1897|Various
If you had asked a Chicagoan, the honorable chairman would have been compelled to resort to cloture before the orator got through.
Modern Eloquence: Vol III, After-Dinner Speeches P-Z|Various

British Dictionary definitions for cloture

cloture

/ (ˈkləʊtʃə) /

noun

closure in the US Senate

verb

(tr) to end (debate) in the US Senate by cloture

Word Origin for cloture

C19: from French clôture, from Old French closure

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

Word Origin and History for cloture

cloture

1871, the French word for "closure, the action of closing," applied to debates in the French Assembly ("action of closing (debate) by will of a majority"), then to the House of Commons and U.S. Congress, from French clôture, from Old French closture (see closure). It was especially used in English by those opposed to the tactic.

In foreign countries the Clôture has been used notoriously to barricade up a majority against the "pestilent" criticism of a minority, and in this country every "whip" and force is employed by the majority to re-assert its continued supremacy and to keep its ranks intact whenever attacked. How this one-sided struggle to maintain solidarity can be construed into "good for all" is inexplicable in the sense uttered. ["The clôture and the Recent Debate, a Letter to Sir J. Lubbock," London, 1882]

Culture definitions for cloture

cloture

[ (kloh-chuhr) ]

A vote of a legislature used to stop debate on an issue and put the issue to a vote. (See filibuster.)

cloture

noun

verb (used with or without object), clo·tured, clo·tur·ing.

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Nearby words

Origin of cloture

Examples from the Web for cloture

British Dictionary definitions for cloture

cloture

noun

verb

Word Origin for cloture

Word Origin and History for cloture

cloture

Culture definitions for cloture

cloture