poll

¹ American  

[pohl] / poʊl /

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.

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

4. the voting at an election.

5. the number of votes cast.

6. the numerical result of the voting.

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

8. poll tax.

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

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

11. the back of the head.

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

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

14. 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.

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

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

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

6. to bring to the polls, as voters.

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

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

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

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

verb (used without object)

1. to vote at the polls; give one's vote.

poll ² American  

[pol] / pɒl /

noun

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

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

   2. Also called poll degree.  pass degree.

---

poll ³ American  

[pol] / pɒl /

noun

1. polly.

---

poll British  

/ 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

3. Also called: opinion poll. 

   1. 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

   2. the results or record of such a canvassing

4. any counting or enumeration

   a poll of the number of men with long hair

5. short for poll tax

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

7. the striking face of a hammer

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

---

verb

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

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

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

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

6. 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

7. to clip or shear

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

Other Word Forms

• pollable adjective
• poller noun
• repolling noun

Etymology

Origin of poll¹

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)”

Origin of poll²

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

Explanation

A poll is an election, or a survey of people's opinions. When people go to the polls, they vote. If you poll your classmates about their favorite foods, you survey them and take note of their opinions — in other words, they each cast a vote. This is also what happens when voters go to the polls, although they're voting for political candidates and their votes are anonymous. The original fourteenth century meaning of poll was "hair on the head" or just "head." This gradually evolved into "person," and the idea of "counting heads."

Example Sentences

Total revenue edged up 2% to 8.67 billion euros, surpassing the 8.54 billion-euro result penciled in by analysts in a poll compiled by the bank.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026

Analysts were looking for $2.65 billion, according to a FactSet poll.

From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026

But as the poll notes, the latter number is deceptive.

From Salon • Apr. 28, 2026

And listeners appear to want labels: in the Deezer–Ipsos poll, around 80% of respondents said AI-generated music should be clearly labelled, though views on filtering were more divided.

From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026

Complete methods, poll questions, and results are available in the appendix and at www.nytimes.com/class.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

Related Words

• canvass
• enroll
• examine
• interview
• register
• survey
• tally