Definition of "filibuster" []

• The use of obstructionist tactics, especially prolonged speechmaking, for the purpose of delaying legislative action. (noun)
• An instance of the use of this delaying tactic. (noun)
• An adventurer who engages in a private military action in a foreign country. (noun)
• To use obstructionist tactics in a legislative body. (verb-intransitive)
• To take part in a private military action in a foreign country. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "For some liberal critics, like Vice President Joe Biden a man who participated in countless filibusters in 36 years in the Senate or the New York Times editorial board, this is a posture of pure opportunism diametrically opposed to how they viewed the value of the legislative filibuster during the Bush presidency, while others, like Mickey Kaus, have long argued that the legislative filibuster* should go because of its role in obstructing progressive legislation."
• "The term filibuster traces back to the Spanish word filibustero or pirate (itself derived from the Dutch vrijbuiter or freebooter) and refers to the capacity of obstructionist legislators to hijack or "pirate" legislative debate."
• "The word filibuster is derived from the Spanish "filibustero" -- meaning "pirate," an entirely appropriate frame to better understand the dogma of those for whom pro-consumer means anti-business."