electorate
Americannoun
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the body of persons entitled to vote in an election.
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the dignity or territory of an Elector of the Holy Roman Empire.
noun
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the body of all qualified voters
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the rank, position, or territory of an elector of the Holy Roman Empire
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the area represented by a Member of Parliament
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the voters in a constituency
Etymology
Origin of electorate
Explanation
An electorate is a body of people allowed to vote in an election. In the United States, when you turn eighteen, you may join the electorate and help choose a president. The word electorate is especially important for those people who are not a part of it. For instance, women in the United States were not part of the electorate until they were allowed to vote in 1920. Being a part of the electorate is important because it gives you a chance to elect — or choose — who you want to represent you in your government.
Vocabulary lists containing electorate
Star-Spangled Vocabulary: Patriotic Words
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Electoral Elocution: The Verbiage of Voting
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Nothing But the Truth
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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.
The unprecedented move thrust the little-known political district into the spotlight, handing its electorate of roughly 77,000 people an outsized say in influencing Starmer's fate.
From Barron's • Jun. 19, 2026
“The View” is not just a television show; it is a microcosm of the electorate Vance needs and does not yet have.
From Salon • Jun. 17, 2026
Under-30s make up about a quarter of Peru's electorate, and many who protested feel neither candidate can deliver real change.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
The top-two finishers could turn on the composition of the electorate, which is hard to predict.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026
Finally, Gore will counter by noting that two-thirds of the electorate prefer him to Jackson.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
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.
