adjective
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Origin of electoral
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Explanation
The adjective electoral describes anything having to do with elections. When people talk about "electoral reform," they're referring to changing the way political elections work. When you see the word electoral, you can be sure that the subject is politics and elections. An electoral district, for example, is a specific geographic area that elects a representative or has its votes counted separately, and electoral fraud means rigging votes or interfering with the process of an election. Electoral comes from the noun elector, or "voter in an election." In Latin, it means "chooser or selector," from the root eligere, "select."
Vocabulary lists containing electoral
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.
Two other opposition forces -- ex-president Robert Kocharyan's "Armenia" alliance and the Prosperous Armenia party -- also cleared the electoral threshold to get into parliament, winning 9.9 percent and four percent of the vote, respectively.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
That narrative was always more wishcasting than the underlying electoral reality suggested.
From Salon • Jun. 6, 2026
Consequently, the clause confers on Congress especially broad authority over state electoral systems and makes judicial second-guessing of legislation designed to ensure equal representation for all particularly improper.
From Slate • Jun. 3, 2026
He and Mr. Petro were so stunned by the results that they refused to accept them immediately and said they would wait for them to be scrutinized by the electoral authorities.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026
The vote was close, but he thought he saw a path to the 270 electoral votes needed for victory.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
