poll
1 Americannoun
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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.
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Usually polls. the place where votes are taken.
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the registering of votes, as at an election.
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the voting at an election.
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the number of votes cast.
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the numerical result of the voting.
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an enumeration or a list of individuals, as for purposes of taxing or voting.
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a person or individual in a number or list.
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the head, especially the part of it on which the hair grows.
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the back of the head.
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the rear portion of the head of a horse; the nape.
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the part of the head between the ears of certain animals, as the horse and cow.
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the broad end or face of a hammer.
verb (used with object)
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polls,
present (3rd person singular)
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polled,
past participle, past
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polling
present participle
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to take a sampling of the attitudes or opinions of.
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to receive at the polls as votes.
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to enroll (someone) in a list or register, as for purposes of taxing or voting.
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to take or register the votes of (persons).
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to deposit or cast at the polls as a vote.
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to bring to the polls, as voters.
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to cut short or cut off the hair, wool, etc., of (an animal); crop; clip; shear.
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to cut short or cut off (hair, wool, etc.).
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to cut off the top of (a tree); pollard.
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to cut off or cut short the horns of (cattle).
verb (used without object)
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polls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
polled,
past participle, past
-
polling
present participle
noun
noun
noun
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the casting, recording, or counting of votes in an election; a voting
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the result or quantity of such a voting
a heavy poll
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Also called: opinion poll.
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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
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the results or record of such a canvassing
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any counting or enumeration
a poll of the number of men with long hair
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short for poll tax
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a list or enumeration of people, esp for taxation or voting purposes
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the striking face of a hammer
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the occipital or back part of the head of an animal
verb
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to receive (a vote or quantity of votes)
he polled 10 000 votes
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to receive, take, or record the votes of
he polled the whole town
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to canvass (a person, group, area, etc) as part of a survey of opinion
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to take the vote, verdict, opinion, etc, individually of each member (of a jury, conference, etc)
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(sometimes intr) to cast (a vote) in an election
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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
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to clip or shear
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to remove or cut short the horns of (cattle)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pollsimple
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pollssimple
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have polledperfect
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has polledperfect
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am pollingprogressive
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are pollingprogressive
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is pollingprogressive
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have been pollingperfect progressive
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has been pollingperfect progressive
Past
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polledsimple
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had polledperfect
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was pollingprogressive
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were pollingprogressive
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had been pollingperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing poll
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.
See Examples For:
A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll released Thursday found that eight in 10 Americans opposed the livestreaming of the execution.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
“AI” is just another boring op-ed to them, not a poll.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
In a Suffolk University poll in September, some 56 percent of voters said he was doing an “excellent” or “good” job, and another 17 percent rated him “fair.”
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
A recent Gallup poll shed light on what you are experiencing, and the results did not bode well for a generation of renters who would like to get their foot on the property ladder.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
“I think the system is as fair as you can make it,” Ernie Frazier, a sixty-five-year-old real estate investor in Houston, said in an interview after participating in the poll.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
Grin believes the demonstrations could play an important role in drawing voters to the polls.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Ben McMillan, CIO at IDX Advisors, said he has been keeping a close eye on polls at the national and local level as the drumbeat of anti-data-center rhetoric has picked up.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
Voters were still lined up when the polls closed at 7 p.m.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Second, there is one key difference between the two candidates: We know who Mayor Karen Bass is, but we don’t yet know who Councilmember Nithya Raman is, even though she’s been leading in most polls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
When Bouza’s opinion was publicized just before the election, he fell sharply in the polls.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
Then we narrowed the list further to stocks rated buy, or the equivalent, by at least 80% of the analysts polled by FactSet.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
In addition to the price changes, the table includes forward price-to-earnings ratios based on Thursday’s closing prices and consensus earnings-per-share estimates among analysts polled by FactSet.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Official data due on Monday is expected to show the world's second-biggest economy expanded 4.4 percent year-on-year in July-September, according to economists polled by AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
September’s reading was higher than the 0.4% increase economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Horse and Horseman magazine, which polled horsemen, not sportswriters, had named Seabiscuit Horse of the Year, but the Turf and Sport vote was regarded as the deciding one.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
The government meanwhile welcomed the polling date announcements as an "important stage ... towards reinforcing the country's democratic system".
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Libor at the time was a benchmark interest rate set by polling more than a dozen global banks once a day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Raman is still a mystery to many, even though she’s polling ahead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
That will be a calculation for another time and much will depend on the proximity of polling day.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
When she turned back, she saw the polling location, which in Bumblebee was the sheriff’s office, looming ahead.
From "Stella by Starlight" by Sharon M. Draper
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