absentee

[ ab-suhn-tee ]

noun

1. a person who is absent, especially from work or school.
2. a person who is defined by their absence, such as a landowner who does not live on certain property owned or a voter who is permitted to cast a ballot by mail.

absentee

/ ˌæbsənˈtiː /

noun

1. 1. a person who is absent
   2. ( as modifier )

      an absentee voter

Word History and Origins

Origin of absentee¹

First recorded in 1530–40; absent + -ee

Example Sentences

He also complained that he was leading in the count until a surge in absentee ballots ballots from Democratic-heavy Milwaukee tipped the balance in Baldwin's favor.

From Salon

Sir Keir was one of only seven G20 leaders attending the summit, with 13 absentees including the premiers of the US, China, France and Germany.

From BBC

A post on X which claims “the Pentagon reportedly failed to send absentee ballots to active military service members before the election” has been viewed over 28 million times.

From BBC

State law allows offices to accept absentee ballots up until Election Day and Georgia's Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger noted on X that the practice was perfectly legal.

From Salon

“Pennsylvania and Wisconsin don’t allow the processing of absentee ballots before election day. Wisconsin moves faster because it’s smaller, but the bottleneck is Milwaukee.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• hooky player
• no-show
• truant