: the closing or limitation of debate in a legislative body especially by calling for a vote
clotured; cloturing; clotures
: to close (debate) in a legislative body by cloture
Debate over the bill was short Tuesday evening. After an initial debate Tuesday afternoon, Senate Republicans clotured debate when the bill returned later in the day.—
Brian Lyman
Brian LymanExamples of cloture in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Allison Pecorin, ABC News, 12 Mar. 2025
State of play: The Senate is due to hold a cloture vote on the bill Wednesday afternoon, and the House is planning a floor vote later this week.
—Victoria Knight, Axios, 22 Jan. 2025
The Senate is set to vote on cloture for Hegseth’s nomination Thursday afternoon, setting up a likely final vote on Friday.
—Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 23 Jan. 2025
This week, the congresswoman criticized some Senate Democrats for voting to invoke cloture, which ended the filibuster and paved the way for the legislation's passage.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 15 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cloture
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Noun
At least 60 votes are needed for a funding bill to clear key procedural votes, called cloture votes, which means at least seven Democrats would be needed to pass any funding bill through the Senate.
—Allison Pecorin, ABC News, 12 Mar. 2025
State of play: The Senate is due to hold a cloture vote on the bill Wednesday afternoon, and the House is planning a floor vote later this week.
—Victoria Knight, Axios, 22 Jan. 2025
The Senate is set to vote on cloture for Hegseth’s nomination Thursday afternoon, setting up a likely final vote on Friday.
—Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 23 Jan. 2025
This week, the congresswoman criticized some Senate Democrats for voting to invoke cloture, which ended the filibuster and paved the way for the legislation's passage.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 15 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cloture
Cite this Entry
“Cloture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cloture. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
cloture
noun
clo·ture
ˈklō-chər 
: the closing or limitation of debate in a legislative body especially by calling for a vote
cloture
transitive verb
Etymology
Noun
French clôture, literally, closure
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