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.
We are covering the story with all the complexity of an electorate that is spread out along the political spectrum.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
The electorate is volatile, said Sonoma State University political science professor David McCuan, and there are always wild cards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
Israeli networks will publish their exit polls after the voting ends, providing a sense of the mood of the electorate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
Now Serbia's electorate must decide which they prefer.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
“On the day the electorate, as expected in polls, was voting in unprecedented numbers against bombing North Vietnam or otherwise escalating the war, we were working to set such a policy in motion,” Ellsberg recalled.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
