: 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
Samantha-Jo Roth, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 10 Feb. 2025
Burgum cleared a filibuster-breaking cloture vote yesterday 78-20, with with 24 Democrats and Independent Angus King voting in favor.
—Nick Sobczyk, Axios, 30 Jan. 2025
Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on John Ratcliffe's nomination for CIA director, Kristi Noem's nomination for Homeland Security Secretary and Pete Hegseth's nomination for defense secretary on Tuesday.
—Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2025
Ahead of Friday’s cloture vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who had earlier voted to open debate on the bill, lamented that more amendment votes were not brought to the floor.
—Al Weaver, The Hill, 17 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cloture
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
The passage of the cloture motion means there will be 30 hours of debate on the Senate floor, setting up Gabbard’s final confirmation vote on Wednesday when the debate time expires.
—Samantha-Jo Roth, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 10 Feb. 2025
Burgum cleared a filibuster-breaking cloture vote yesterday 78-20, with with 24 Democrats and Independent Angus King voting in favor.
—Nick Sobczyk, Axios, 30 Jan. 2025
Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on John Ratcliffe's nomination for CIA director, Kristi Noem's nomination for Homeland Security Secretary and Pete Hegseth's nomination for defense secretary on Tuesday.
—Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2025
Ahead of Friday’s cloture vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who had earlier voted to open debate on the bill, lamented that more amendment votes were not brought to the floor.
—Al Weaver, The Hill, 17 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cloture
Articles Related to cloture
Cite this Entry
“Cloture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cloture. Accessed 15 Mar. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share