adjective
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Etymology
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.
In doing so, they offer a contrasting view to consultant-centered narratives, suggesting that while strategists matter, electoral outcomes and political careers are often attributed in public record to broader forces and to the officeholders themselves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Grim though it sounds, grief can bring electoral advantages.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
He wrote: "I am a strong supporter of electoral reform, partly because I believe it will enable the change to a more collaborative politics, and one that is less about point-scoring and more about problem-solving."
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
After his electoral defeat in 1912, Candice Millard writes in “The River of Doubt,” Roosevelt “sought to purge his disappointment by throwing himself headlong against the cruelest trials that nature could offer him.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Outside of New York, he even won more electoral votes than he had in 1796.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
