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 robust reading of the ISM poll, however, fails to tell the whole story.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

That was better than the ¥3.65 billion loss estimated in a poll of analysts by data provider Quick.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

According to a June poll by the Texas Politics Project, 71% of registered Texas Democrats and 44% of registered Texas Republicans oppose data centers, with only 14% of Republicans strongly in support.

From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026

Immediately before Farage's announcement, Reform's average poll rating stood at 27%.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

A similar shortcoming biased the 1948 poll which showed Thomas Dewey beating Harry Truman.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

The race was far closer than some polls had indicated.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

“I’ve been very forthright with the prime minister because he can read the polls just as well as I can,” Smith said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Stevens is counting on support that she says may be underrepresented in opinion polls -- from Black voters, older Democrats and people without college degrees.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

In three months, voters will head to the polls for congressional midterm elections.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

It would have been folly to give up with victory so near—so men went to the polls that November and reelected Abraham Lincoln.

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt

Analysts polled by FactSet expected 58 cents a share.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

The company posted revenue of $715 million for the June quarter, falling short of the $752 million anticipated by analysts polled by FactSet and growing a mere 3% year over year.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

Analysts polled by FactSet expected 76 cents a share.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal forecast an 83,000 increase in new jobs in July, up from 57,000 in June.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

In the end, I polled 7,199 votes and lost to the daughter of the queen.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

El-Sayed’s close win, in which he underperformed the polling, in some ways undersells his achievement.

From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026

Online prediction markets have rapidly broken into the mainstream in the United States, positioning themselves as an alternative to both traditional polling and licensed sports betting.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

It comes as recent polling suggests the Green Party has lost ground to Labour, following Andy Burnham's election as Labour leader, and down from a peak earlier this year.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

Such polling did not exist at the time of the American Revolution, but historical records show queerness did.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

Before I entered the polling station, an irreverent member of the press called out, “Mr. Mandela, who are you voting for?”

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

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