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president-elect

American  
[prez-i-duhnt-i-lekt] / ˈprɛz ɪ dənt ɪˈlɛkt /

noun

  1. a president after election but before induction into office.


president-elect British  

noun

  1. a person who has been elected president but has not yet entered office

"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

Etymology

Origin of president-elect

An Americanism dating back to 1815–25

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:

Ellie Brownstein, pediatrician in Salt Lake County and president-elect of the Utah chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics: I avoid talking about politics, but what’s being said has added another layer to our work.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 28, 2026

Colombia's president-elect, de la Espriella, will take office a few days later, having won a similarly razor-thin election on the promise of combatting organised crime.

From BBC Jul. 4, 2026

Plus, Wintour brought her back to Vogue ahead of the Biden administration to style her first-ever cover of the mother ship magazine, which featured Kamala Harris, then vice president-elect, and brought things full circle.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 30, 2026

He startled Beijing by taking Tsai’s congratulatory call on his election, making him the first U.S. president-elect to speak directly to a Taiwanese leader since 1979, when Washington severed formal diplomatic ties with the island.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 26, 2026

The president-elect, I learned, is given access to $100,000 in federal funds to help with moving and redecorating, but Barack insisted that we pay for everything ourselves, using what we’d saved from his book royalties.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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