poll

¹ American  

[pohl] / poʊl /

noun

1. a sampling or collection of opinions on a subject, taken from either a selected or a random group of persons, as for the purpose of analysis.

2. Usually polls. the place where votes are taken.

3. the registering of votes, as at an election.

4. the voting at an election.

5. the number of votes cast.

6. the numerical result of the voting.

7. an enumeration or a list of individuals, as for purposes of taxing or voting.

8. poll tax.

9. a person or individual in a number or list.

10. the head, especially the part of it on which the hair grows.

11. the back of the head.

12. the rear portion of the head of a horse; the nape.

13. the part of the head between the ears of certain animals, as the horse and cow.

14. the broad end or face of a hammer.

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verb (used with object)

• polls,
  present (3rd person singular)
• polled,
  past participle,  past
• polling
  present participle

1. to take a sampling of the attitudes or opinions of.

2. to receive at the polls as votes.

3. to enroll (someone) in a list or register, as for purposes of taxing or voting.

4. to take or register the votes of (persons).

5. to deposit or cast at the polls as a vote.

6. to bring to the polls, as voters.

7. to cut short or cut off the hair, wool, etc., of (an animal); crop; clip; shear.

8. to cut short or cut off (hair, wool, etc.).

9. to cut off the top of (a tree); pollard.

10. to cut off or cut short the horns of (cattle).

verb (used without object)

• polls,
  present (3rd person singular)
• polled,
  past participle,  past
• polling
  present participle

1. to vote at the polls; give one's vote.

poll ² American  

[pol] / pɒl /

noun

1. (formerly, especially at Cambridge University, England)

   1. the body of students who read for or obtain a degree without honors.

   2. Also called poll degree.  pass degree.

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poll ³ American  

[pol] / pɒl /

noun

1. polly.

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poll British  

/ pəʊl /

noun

1. the casting, recording, or counting of votes in an election; a voting

2. the result or quantity of such a voting

   a heavy poll

3. Also called: opinion poll. 

   1. a canvassing of a representative sample of a large group of people on some question in order to determine the general opinion of the group

   2. the results or record of such a canvassing

4. any counting or enumeration

   a poll of the number of men with long hair

5. short for poll tax

6. a list or enumeration of people, esp for taxation or voting purposes

7. the striking face of a hammer

8. the occipital or back part of the head of an animal

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verb

1. to receive (a vote or quantity of votes)

   he polled 10 000 votes

2. to receive, take, or record the votes of

   he polled the whole town

3. to canvass (a person, group, area, etc) as part of a survey of opinion

4. to take the vote, verdict, opinion, etc, individually of each member (of a jury, conference, etc)

5. (sometimes intr) to cast (a vote) in an election

6. computing (in data transmission when several terminals share communications channels) to check each channel rapidly to establish which are free, or to call for data from each terminal in turn

7. to clip or shear

8. to remove or cut short the horns of (cattle)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• poller
  noun
• repolling
  noun
• pollable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• polling
  present
• polled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• poll
  simple
• polls
  simple
• have polled
  perfect
• has polled
  perfect
• am polling
  progressive
• are polling
  progressive
• is polling
  progressive
• have been polling
  perfect progressive
• has been polling
  perfect progressive

Past

• polled
  simple
• had polled
  perfect
• was polling
  progressive
• were polling
  progressive
• had been polling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will poll
  simple
• will have polled
  perfect
• will be polling
  progressive
• will have been polling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of poll¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English pol(le) “head (of a person or animal); a person,” from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German: “hair of the head, top of a tree or other plant”; akin to Danish puld, Swedish pull “crown (of the head)”

Origin of poll²

First recorded in 1800–05; from Greek polloí (as in hoi polloí “the many”); see poly-

Explanation

A poll is an election, or a survey of people's opinions. When people go to the polls, they vote. If you poll your classmates about their favorite foods, you survey them and take note of their opinions — in other words, they each cast a vote. This is also what happens when voters go to the polls, although they're voting for political candidates and their votes are anonymous. The original fourteenth century meaning of poll was "hair on the head" or just "head." This gradually evolved into "person," and the idea of "counting heads."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

poll polls polled polling

The poll is the first election in Israel since the Hamas-led attacks of Oct.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

But regardless, this sentiment is spilling into the real world, as a recent Gallup poll showed 71% of Americans opposed construction of the physical manifestation of AI: data centers.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

A recent Gallup poll found that 60% of Americans surveyed accurately understand how the rest of the world views this country.

From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026

Opponents of the elected mayor system said the poll could still happen if enough residents signed a petition.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

“I didn’t rat them out. Pudge here certainly didn’t rat them out, but you brought him in on your fun. Truce? Hmm, let me take a poll real quick.”

From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green

For Berlin, the broadcaster put the CDU on 20% of the vote share when polls closed, behind Die Linke on nearly 26%.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

I have covered elections, I’ve worked the polls and I vote.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

She is a staunch defender of the Scandinavian country's famed welfare state, with an attitude that resonates with many Swedes, regularly topping opinion polls on the country's most trusted politicians.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

But the latest polls for a second round on Oct.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

Long before Seabiscuit arrived, the polls on the race had begun.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected a 0.1% decline.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

The consensus estimate among analysts polled by FactSet is for Uber’s 2026 revenue to total $57.8 billion, up 55% from $37.3 billion in 2023.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting $1.28 a share.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Americans appear increasingly alarmed by the technology,with 7 in 10 polled in March opposing local construction of data centers that power AI technology, according to a Gallup survey.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

Selden called for the jury to be polled.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

UPenn’s polling found that Americans, on average, think AI will help in only one area: medical research.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

In the US, polling by Gallup published in May suggested having a data centre in your area was more unpopular than having a nuclear power station.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

The key point coming out of RMG’s most recent polling on that question?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

In line with the sometimes defiant sense of local "Ossie pride", Siegmund has often ridden the iconic local Simson bike, including to the polling booth Sunday in his hometown of Tangermuende.

From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026

Using surveys from two polling companies, the researchers calculated that 6 million people across the United States heard the Mercury Theatre broadcast.

From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow

Related Words

• canvass
• enroll
• examine
• interview
• register
• survey
• tally