poll

1
[ pohl ]
See synonyms for: pollpollingpolls on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a sampling or collection of opinions on a subject, taken from either a selected or a random group of persons, as for the purpose of analysis.

  2. Usually polls. the place where votes are taken.

  1. the registering of votes, as at an election.

  2. the voting at an election.

  3. the number of votes cast.

  4. the numerical result of the voting.

  5. an enumeration or a list of individuals, as for purposes of taxing or voting.

  6. a person or individual in a number or list.

  7. the head, especially the part of it on which the hair grows.

  8. the back of the head.

  9. the rear portion of the head of a horse; the nape.

  10. the part of the head between the ears of certain animals, as the horse and cow.

  11. the broad end or face of a hammer.

verb (used with object)
  1. to take a sampling of the attitudes or opinions of.

  2. to receive at the polls as votes.

  1. to enroll (someone) in a list or register, as for purposes of taxing or voting.

  2. to take or register the votes of (persons).

  3. to deposit or cast at the polls as a vote.

  4. to bring to the polls, as voters.

  5. to cut short or cut off the hair, wool, etc., of (an animal); crop; clip; shear.

  6. to cut short or cut off (hair, wool, etc.).

  7. to cut off the top of (a tree); pollard.

  8. to cut off or cut short the horns of (cattle).

verb (used without object)
  1. to vote at the polls; give one's vote.

Origin of poll

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English pol(le) “head (of a person or animal); a person,” from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German: “hair of the head, top of a tree or other plant”; akin to Danish puld, Swedish pull “crown (of the head)”

Other words from poll

  • poll·a·ble, adjective
  • poller, noun
  • re·poll·ing, noun

Words Nearby poll

Other definitions for poll (2 of 3)

poll2
[ pol ]

noun
  1. (formerly, especially at Cambridge University, England)

    • the body of students who read for or obtain a degree without honors.

    • Also called poll degree . pass degree.

Origin of poll

2
First recorded in 1800–05; from Greek polloí (as in hoi polloí “the many”); see poly-

Other definitions for poll (3 of 3)

poll3
[ pol ]

noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use poll in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for poll

poll

/ (pəʊl) /


noun
  1. the casting, recording, or counting of votes in an election; a voting

  2. the result or quantity of such a voting: a heavy poll

  1. Also called: opinion poll

    • a canvassing of a representative sample of a large group of people on some question in order to determine the general opinion of the group

    • the results or record of such a canvassing

  2. any counting or enumeration: a poll of the number of men with long hair

  3. short for poll tax

  4. a list or enumeration of people, esp for taxation or voting purposes

  5. the striking face of a hammer

  6. the occipital or back part of the head of an animal

verb(mainly tr)
  1. to receive (a vote or quantity of votes): he polled 10 000 votes

  2. to receive, take, or record the votes of: he polled the whole town

  1. to canvass (a person, group, area, etc) as part of a survey of opinion

  2. mainly US to take the vote, verdict, opinion, etc, individually of each member (of a jury, conference, etc)

  3. (sometimes intr) to cast (a vote) in an election

  4. computing (in data transmission when several terminals share communications channels) to check each channel rapidly to establish which are free, or to call for data from each terminal in turn

  5. to clip or shear

  6. to remove or cut short the horns of (cattle)

Origin of poll

1
C13 (in the sense: a human head) and C17 (in the modern sense: a counting of heads, votes): from Middle Low German polle hair of the head, head, top of a tree; compare Swedish pull crown of the head

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012