bloc

Etymology

Borrowed from French bloc (“group, block”), ultimately of Old Dutch origin, from Frankish or Proto-West Germanic *blokk, from Proto-Germanic *blukką (“beam, log”). Doublet of block.

noun

1. A group of voters or politicians who share common goals.
   But a huge bloc of non-Hispanic white residents without bachelor’s degrees — 72 percent of the population age 25 or older — has turned the 7th District into Republican turf. 2020, Geoffrey Skelley, Nathaniel Rakich, “Two Special Elections On Tuesday Could Hint At Another Blue Wave In 2020”, in FiveThirtyEight
2. A group of countries acting together for political or economic goals, an alliance: e.g., the eastern bloc, the western bloc, a trading bloc, the Eurozone, the European Union.
   The ECB is considering three main options ... but two of them could hurt confidence in the bloc's most indebted states, ... (Reuters)
   Climate change a security risk for EU, say bloc's foreign policy chiefs (EUobserver)
   military bloc