pollster
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of pollster
Explanation
A pollster is a person who surveys voters to find out who they're voting for or to gather other information about their opinions. Often, pollsters attempt to predict the outcome of an election by polling people either before they vote or just afterwards. Pollsters sometimes also ask people questions about their opinions on social and political issues. Pollster, coined in 1939, comes from poll, "to take votes" or "to survey," and originally, "head of hair." This meaning was first extended from "head" to "person," and then in the 1620s to "counting heads."
Vocabulary lists containing pollster
U.S. Government - Middle School and High School
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U.S. Government - Middle School and High School
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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.
The same pollster had her approval rating at 37% in February.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
“He was aiming for a national profile,” said Floyd Ciruli, a pollster who’s been taking soundings of Colorado voters for decades.
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026
Official statistics are not published during the war, but pollster Info Sapiens estimated a jobless rate of 15.5 percent in March 2026.
From Barron's • May 13, 2026
She holds a 17-point lead over her nearest rival based on a survey in March by Manila pollster WR Numero.
From BBC • May 11, 2026
Obtaining random samples is a difficult art, and the pollster doesn’t always succeed.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
