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

Voters in the coastal community were less enthusiastic, however, with even local Reform supporters dismissing the poll.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

The BBC has conducted a straw poll in the Essex seaside town, where people have shared their views on the election result.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

The Berkeley IGS/Times poll findings are based on an online survey in English and Spanish of 4,207 California registered voters, 2,310 of whom are considered likely voters, from Aug. 3-9.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The same poll found 51% of registered voters in Texas preferred Talarico, as did 63% of moderates.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

In the Times poll, 45 percent of respondents said they were in a higher class than when they grew up, while just 16 percent said they were in a lower one.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

In two recent polls, 60% to 70% of Americans said they oppose data centers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

The copper-rich southern African nation went to the polls on Thursday in an election focused on economic hardship.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Despite opinion polls registering a fall in Vladimir Putin's domestic approval ratings, Russia's president – Mr Muratov believes - retains a tight grip on power.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

But prediction markets differ from polls in important ways.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

He took the lead in about half the Iowa polls and was only gaining steam as the caucuses approached.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal were looking for a drop of 600,000 barrels.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026

Patrick Collison, chief executive of digital payments company Stripe, recently polled his 1.5 million followers on X about their economic outlook.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Analysts polled by FactSet expected sales of $6.16 billion, with adjusted earnings of $12.61.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

The data was in line with the expectations of economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

When I polled some accomplished writers about which style manuals they had con- sulted during their apprenticeships, the most common answer I got was “none.”

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

There are around a dozen candidates, with those trailing Lula and Bolsonaro polling in the single digits.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

According to polling by Harris, nearly half of regular worshipers say they feel less safe attending services in person, and 39% report that safety concerns have changed how often they attend.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Prediction markets say their odds reflect the wisdom of the crowds and can be more accurate than polling.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

Voting takes place at polling booths across the constituency, external from 07:00 until 22:00.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

I explained that I got this idea from the polling my friend Dick Dresner had done for the movie industry.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

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