vote

American  

[voht] / voʊt /

noun

votes plural

1. a formal expression of opinion or choice made by an individual or body of individuals, especially in an election.

2. the means by which such expression is made, as a ballot, ticket, or show of hands.

3. the right to such expression.

   The 19th Amendment gave women the vote.

4. the total number of votes cast.

   The heavy vote was a result of a new law that allows mailed-in ballots to be scanned days in advance of the close of voting.

5. the decision reached by voting, as by a majority of ballots cast.

   The vote was in favor of the resolution.

6. a particular group of voters, or their collective expression of will as inferred from their votes.

   Two large unions endorsed the candidate on Monday, as he continues to court the labor vote.

7. an informal expression of approval, agreement, or judgment.

   My vote is for pepperoni—anchovies on pizza are gross!

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verb (used without object)

votes, present (3rd person singular) voted, past participle, past voting present participle

1. to express or signify will or choice in a matter, as by casting a ballot: Don’t blame me if this film gives you nightmares—I voted for the romcom.

   Only three Republicans broke with their party to vote against the measure.

   Don’t blame me if this film gives you nightmares—I voted for the romcom.

verb (used with object)

votes, present (3rd person singular) voted, past participle, past voting present participle

1. to enact, establish, or determine by vote.

   Threats were made against members of Congress who voted the bill into law.

2. to support by one's vote.

   When Susan B. Anthony defied the law and voted in 1872, she proudly voted the Republican ticket.

3. to advocate by or as if by one's vote: I vote we go to Disney World.

   The committee voted that the report be accepted.

   I vote we go to Disney World.

4. to declare or decide by general consent.

   They voted the trip a success.

5. to encourage or cause to vote, especially in a particular way.

vote British  

/ vəʊt /

noun

1. an indication of choice, opinion, or will on a question, such as the choosing of a candidate, by or as if by some recognized means, such as a ballot

   10 votes for Jones

2. the opinion of a group of persons as determined by voting

   it was put to the vote

   do not take a vote

   it came to a vote

3. a body of votes or voters collectively

   the Jewish vote

4. the total number of votes cast

   the vote decreased at the last election

5. the ticket, ballot, etc, by which a vote is expressed

6. 1. the right to vote; franchise; suffrage

   2. a person regarded as the embodiment of this right

7. a means of voting, such as a ballot

8. a grant or other proposition to be voted upon

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verb

1. (when tr, takes a clause as object or an infinitive) to express or signify (one's preference, opinion, or will) (for or against some question, etc)

   to vote by ballot

   we voted that it was time to adjourn

   vote for me!

2. (intr) to declare oneself as being (something or in favour of something) by exercising one's vote

   to vote socialist

3. (tr; foll by into or out of, etc) to appoint or elect (a person to or from a particular post)

   they voted him into the presidency

   he was voted out of office

4. (tr) to determine the condition of in a specified way by voting

   the court voted itself out of existence

5. (tr) to authorize, confer, or allow by voting

   vote us a rise

6. informal (tr) to declare by common opinion

   the party was voted a failure

7. (tr) to influence or control the voting of

   do not try to vote us!

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prevote
  noun
• revote
  noun
• revote
  verb
• unvoted
  adjective
• unvoting
  adjective
• votable
  adjective
• voteless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• votes
  plural

Participles

• voting
  present
• voted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• vote
  simple
• votes
  simple
• have voted
  perfect
• has voted
  perfect
• am voting
  progressive
• are voting
  progressive
• is voting
  progressive
• have been voting
  perfect progressive
• has been voting
  perfect progressive

Past

• voted
  simple
• had voted
  perfect
• was voting
  progressive
• were voting
  progressive
• had been voting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will vote
  simple
• will have voted
  perfect
• will be voting
  progressive
• will have been voting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of vote

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English noun from Latin vōtum “a vow made to a deity; prayer, desire, hope”; see also vow

Explanation

Your vote is your official choice on some specific question. You might feel that your vote hardly counts in a Presidential election, though your vote for student council treasurer might feel like it has a lot more importance. A vote is a formal noting of your preference, in an online poll or sitting in a circle with your book group, or when you cast it on a ballot at a polling place. To voice that preference is also to vote, either officially or more casually: "Let's all vote on a group costume for Halloween this year — a bag of jelly beans or the seven dwarfs?" The Latin root of vote is votum, "a vow, wish, or promise."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vote votes voted voting

The Jackson campaign, for example, has rolled out slates of delegates who promise to vote for Jackson at the convention in all of Maine’s counties.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026

This is a bill that will pass if it comes to a vote.

From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2026

Only a handful of municipalities allow noncitizens to vote in local elections.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

"Nothing presented shows evidence of any vote manipulation," Charles Stewart, an elections expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

“Go on, Nell,” urged Mrs. Nash gently, “keep reading. I may not have a vote, but I do have an interest.”

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

Aditya Bhave, head of U.S. economic research at BofA Global Research, said in an interview that Warsh “would comfortably have enough votes on the committee to raise rates.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026

While election procedures are managed by state governments, most votes are now recorded on some form of paper ballot.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

The former candidates for governor each got tens of thousands of votes statewide.

From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2026

Fanara ran for governor in the March 2022 primary election, his “common sense” platform attracting 25,086 votes, about 0.4% of those cast.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

Only Charlotte votes the pet tortoise that waits by the door is the lie.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

As a delegate to the Continental Congress, he voted twice against adopting the Declaration of Independence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

No. As a born-and-raised Mainer, I’ve followed many a social media thread in which former Platner supporters express suspicion that his replacement won’t reflect the progressive platform they voted for.

From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2026

MPs voted by 291 to 241 to back the bill, which had been rejected three times by the upper house of parliament, the Senate.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Gibraltar voted by 96 percent to remain in the EU in Britain's 2016 Brexit referendum.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

Only seven states had not yet voted on the issue, and most of these were in the Deep South, where the suffragists knew they didn’t stand a chance of winning.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

Bhave said that he thinks five of the 12 voting members of the Fed’s interest-rate committee favor hikes.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026

The US made efforts to establish standards to strengthen and streamline the mechanics of voting after the contested 2000 presidential election and again following evidence of Russian election interference in the 2016 election.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Elections Assistance Commission, a federal agency that helps states improve their voting systems and distributed election security grants to help protect state elections from foreign and domestic cyberattacks, among other things.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

Non-citizen voting is illegal and has been shown by both election audits and independent research to be exceedingly rare.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

He vowed to protect the voting rights of Blacks in the South.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Related Words

• choose
• declare
• determine
• elect
• enact
• establish
• grant
• propose
• recommend
• return