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:
Voters who use mail-in ballots — by far the most popular method of voting in California — would be required to write a four-digit number, essentially a PIN, on their ballot envelopes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
According to these survivors, though, it will also require something far more basic: going to the ballot box.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
The list would limit who could receive a mail ballot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Brian Hildebrand was glad when Wisconsin officials recently warned that voters can’t legally cast a ballot in an election they bet on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
“What they should have done,” said Armpit, “is write down all the candidates’ names on a ballot.
From "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar
Texas law permits voters to temporarily cast ballots using an address where they do not reside, so long as they intend to return.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Many local election officials oppose the idea, she said, because it takes away from time they could be spending processing ballots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
The upshot was that instead of a more community-minded gathering of citizens casting ballots for friends and neighbors, delegates were simply voted into the state convention based on whom they would support for the Senate.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
The 400 or so who cast ballots “were registered as Democrats, Republicans, and the majority unaffiliated and were scattered across the state,” Ms. Sherrill said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
When the secret ballots were counted, Emily won by a single vote, there being exactly one more girl than boy in the sixth grade.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
Staff at an East Dunbartonshire secondary school are being balloted on strike action over "serious health and safety concerns".
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2025
Staff at the University of Edinburgh are being balloted on strike action in a dispute over plans to cut £140m from its budget.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2025
Staff at Dundee University were also balloted for strike action last week following reports up to 700 jobs could be cut in an effort to overcome a £35m deficit.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2025
Staff at another Russell group institution, Newcastle University, are being balloted for strike action as the university attempts to plug a £35m shortfall.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2025
So that only fourteen balloted; that is to say, five councillors, and nine of the Council of Ten.
From The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 4 by Coleridge, Ernest Hartley
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
It is also balloting its members at Aberdeen, Heriot-Watt and Stirling.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2026
It was a man-bites-piranha moment — a politician turning away campaign cash?!? — and amounted to a victory lap by California’s governor even as the balloting was still underway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 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.
