poll tax

[ pohl ]

/ poʊl /

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See synonyms for poll tax on Thesaurus.com

noun

a capitation tax, the payment of which is sometimes a prerequisite to exercise the right of suffrage.

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Also called head tax.

Origin of poll tax

First recorded in 1685–95

Words nearby poll tax

pollock, Pollock, Jackson, poll parrot, pollster, polltaker, poll tax, pollucite, pollutant, pollute, polluted, pollution

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use poll tax in a sentence

The state appealed the ruling, and a federal appeals court ruled that, although it wasn’t a poll tax, it did have a “discriminatory effect.”
Ted Cruz makes a Texas-size mess on voter ID and racism|Aaron Blake|September 23, 2021|Washington Post
One of the most effective measures, the poll tax, began in Georgia in 1871.
Lyndon Johnson’s vision for voting rights offers a blueprint for protecting them|Kyle Longley|April 8, 2021|Washington Post
The poll tax was $18 in total, which is equivalent to about $260 in 2020.
Before She Refused to Give Up Her Seat, Rosa Parks Had a Long History as a Voting Rights Activist|Olivia B. Waxman|February 1, 2021|Time
I vote because I still remember that my parents & grandparents, aunts & uncles, cousins & neighbors had to pay a poll tax in order to vote in AL, my home state.
'I Vote Because': Americans Are Sharing Stories of How Their Ancestors Overcame Discrimination in Order to Vote|Olivia B. Waxman|November 4, 2020|Time

Have you tried to access the research that your tax dollars finance, almost all of which is kept behind a paywall?
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
But so-called jungle primaries are notoriously hard to predict or poll.
The Golden State Preps for the ‘Red Wedding’ of Senate Races|David Freedlander|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
His life as a man is built around health insurance and tax services.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Most of it is taken up by a graphic inviting the visitor to participate in the 2016 online presidential straw poll.
Today’s GOP: Still Cool With Racist Pandering?|Michael Tomasky|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Cocaine busts, tax cheats, and bribe-taking, born-again Christians: Welcome to the political scandals of 2014.
2014 Was a Delectably Good Year for Sleaze|Patricia Murphy|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The law went into operation in England imposing a tax on wearing hair powder.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
In former years, Korea had paid an annual tribute or tax to China, but for some time it had been held back by this king.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike
Mr. Jackson supposed that Parliament had a right to tax America, but he much doubted the expediency of the present act.
The Eve of the Revolution|Carl Becker
In tax-paying circles it is said that the fashionable thing will be to start now and let the airship overtake you if it can.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 158, April 28, 1920|Various
The stamps, in remote districts, would frequently require more in postage to obtain than the value of the tax.
The Eve of the Revolution|Carl Becker

British Dictionary definitions for poll tax

poll tax

noun

a tax levied per head of adult population

an informal name for (the former) community charge

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for poll tax

poll tax

A tax required as a qualification for voting. After the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution extended the vote to blacks in 1870, many southern states instituted poll taxes to prevent blacks from voting. The Twenty-fourth Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1964, prohibits poll taxes for federal elections.