From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishblocbloc /blɒk $ blɑːk/ noun [countable usually singular] PPGa large group of people or countries with the same political aims, working together the former Soviet bloc → en bloc
Examples from the Corpus
bloc• And of course we have to maintain friendships with all blocs.• Yet that is precisely the aim of the substantial anti-environment bloc Republicans have assembled in Congress.• Formation of regional party bloc Five regional autonomy parties moved towards forming a political bloc under the leadership of the Lombardy League.• The government sold a controlling 35 percent bloc of shares to a group led by Telefonica de Espana in March 1994.• Yet racial, national, and religious power blocs have always been integral to how power is wielded in this nation.• But in class terms it marked a split within the ruling bloc, not the totalizing rupture from without that repealers claimed.• And most of the money coming in was offset by spending on imports into the bloc.• Regional trade blocs Rather than act independently, many developing countries have tried to increase their competitiveness by forming regional trade blocs.From Longman Business Dictionaryblocbloc /blɒkblɑːk/ noun [countable]1ECONOMICS a group of countries, usually with the same economic system, who have an official trading agreement with each othernegotiations for the incorporation of Mexico into a trade bloc with the USA2a group of countries or people who have been united together for a particular political purposethe former Eastern blocOrigin bloc (1900-2000) French Old French; → BLOCK1 