by-election

Or bye-e·lec·tion

[bahy-i-lek-shuhn]

noun

1. a special election, not held at the time of a general election, to fill a vacancy in Parliament.

by-election

noun

1. (in the United Kingdom and other countries of the Commonwealth) an election held during the life of a parliament to fill a vacant seat in the lower chamber

2. (in the US) a special election to fill a vacant elective position with an unexpired term

Word History and Origins

Origin of by-election¹

First recorded in 1875–80; by- + election

Example Sentences

Lord Taverne famously won the 1973 Lincoln by-election as a Democratic Labour candidate, having resigned from the Labour party over his stance on the European Common Market.

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Labour suffered its first parliamentary defeat in Caerphilly for 100 years as Plaid Cymru claimed victory in the Welsh Parliament by-election.

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Aided by opinion polling showing Labour on the slide and Reform on the rise, Plaid Cymru was able to frame the by-election as straight choice between itself and Nigel Farage's party.

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Labour, which has been the largest party in the Welsh Parliament since its creation in 1999, came a dismal third in the by-election in Caerphilly, south Wales, where it had never lost before.

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The by-election will fill the vacancy until May 2026 when a Wales-wide election will decide the shape of the newly expanded Welsh Parliament.

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