returning officer

noun British.

a public official appointed to conduct and preside at an election.

Origin of returning officer

First recorded in 1720–30

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for returning officer

Historical Examples of returning officer

The borough comprises the parish, and the returning-officer is the Mayor.
Curiousities of Great Britain: England and Wales Delineated Vol. 1
Thomas Dugdale

British Dictionary definitions for returning officer

returning officer

noun

(in Britain, Canada, Australia, etc) an official in charge of conducting an election in a constituency or electoral district, who supervises the counting of votes and announces the results

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