ballot
Americannoun
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a slip or sheet of paper on which a person's vote is marked.
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the method of secret voting by means of printed or written slips or sheets of paper or by means of voting machines.
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voting in general, or a round of voting.
Our candidate was defeated on the third ballot.
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the list of candidates to be voted on.
They succeeded in getting her name placed on the ballot.
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the right to vote.
to gain the ballot after years of struggle.
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the whole number of votes cast or recorded.
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a system or the practice of drawing lots.
The assassin would be chosen by ballot.
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(formerly) a little ball used in voting.
verb (used without object)
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to vote.
to ballot against a candidate.
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to draw lots.
to ballot for places.
verb (used with object)
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to canvass or solicit (a group, membership, etc.) for votes.
Members were balloted on the resolution.
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to select, especially for military service.
Certain age groups will not be balloted at this time.
noun
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the democratic practice of selecting a representative, a course of action, or deciding some other choice by submitting the options to a vote of all qualified persons
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an instance of voting, usually in secret using ballot papers or a voting machine
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the paper on which a vote is recorded
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a list of candidates standing for office
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the number of votes cast in an election
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a random selection of successful applicants for something in which the demand exceeds the supply, esp for shares in an oversubscribed new issue
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the allocation by ballot of farming land among eligible candidates, such as ex-servicemen
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a low-interest housing loan allocated by building societies by drawing lots among its eligible members
verb
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to vote or elicit a vote from
we balloted the members on this issue
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to select (officials, etc) by lot or ballot or to select (successful applicants) at random
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to vote or decide (on an issue, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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balloternoun
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nonballotingnoun
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reballotnoun
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preballotverb (used with object)
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unballotedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ballotsimple
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ballotssimple
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have ballotedperfect
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has ballotedperfect
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am ballotingprogressive
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are ballotingprogressive
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is ballotingprogressive
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have been ballotingperfect progressive
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has been ballotingperfect progressive
Past
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ballotedsimple
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had ballotedperfect
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was ballotingprogressive
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were ballotingprogressive
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had been ballotingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ballot
First recorded in 1540–50; from Middle French ballotte, from Venetian Italian ballotta, equivalent to ball ( a ) ball 1 + -otta diminutive suffix
Explanation
A ballot is a document that lists the choices during an election. When running for office, a candidate’s first goal is getting on the ballot. This Italian-derived word has proven remarkably successful by adapting itself to evolving voting technologies. It has been applied to devices used for casting votes from ancient times to the present, whether consisting of pottery, paper or pixels. Any kind of device, whether on paper or a computer screen, can be called a ballot if it lists the candidates and allows you to vote.
Vocabulary lists containing ballot
Election Lingo
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Electoral Elocution: The Verbiage of Voting
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Academy Awards, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He later said that he voted for third-party candidate Evan McMullin rather than cast a ballot for Trump or Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
Election officials say Daniel J. Sullivan asked to appear on the ballot as a Republican, even though he hadn’t previously been affiliated with the party.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
After an investigation, Daniel J. Sullivan was removed from the Aug. 18 primary ballot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
I still remember walking into the embassy, receiving my ballot and feeling an overwhelming sense of pride and responsibility.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
The act, in effect, abolished poll taxes, literacy tests and other barriers to equal opportunity at the ballot box.
From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman
With a deadline looming to print ballots for the Aug. 18 primary, the state Justices issued a brief order affirming Judge Matthews, with a full opinion to come later.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
All eligible voters can cast ballots in the top races.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
Farage will face competition from Count Binface - the pseudonym of comedian Jon Harvey, who regularly takes part in high-profile ballots.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
He said he first thought about the issue seriously a decade ago, when San Francisco voters passed a measure allowing noncitizen parents to cast ballots in school board elections.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
“There’s no way he can know! The ballots are secret,” the false priest argued back.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Staff at an East Dunbartonshire secondary school are being balloted on strike action over "serious health and safety concerns".
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2025
Metropolitan Police staff are to be balloted for strike action in a dispute over pay, with a union claiming that civilian workers in the Met are treated as "second-class citizens".
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2025
Ben Davis, Unite regional officer, said: "Red Handling has returned to negotiations and made an improved offer and therefore Unite has suspended strike action to allow members to be balloted on the proposals."
From BBC ● May 16, 2025
UCU Members at Durham University are also being balloted for strike action, after the university announced it was planning to make £10m cuts during the current academic year and a further £10m during 2025-26.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2025
When the committee came to be balloted for, Dr. Franklin and your humble servant were unanimously chosen.
From Familiar Letters of John Adams and His Wife Abigail Adams During the Revolution with a Memoir of Mrs. Adams by Adams, Abigail
States have ultimate responsibility for voter registration rolls, the kind of machinery used to conduct balloting, the rules for contesting elections, laws prescribing how candidates qualify to appear on the ballot, and much more.
From Slate ● Feb. 3, 2026
AFP journalists saw balloting begin in the second city of Mandalay, where 53-year-old teacher Zaw Ko Ko Myint cast his vote at a high school around dawn.
From Barron's ● Jan. 24, 2026
But at this rate, Jaffe said, Hernández is in line for the biggest one-year gain since writers returned to yearly balloting in 1967.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 17, 2026
Department of Justice announced that it will send monitors to Los Angeles and other locations in California and New Jersey for next week’s balloting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2025
The balloting proceeded without incident on a shining September morning.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
