straw poll

British  

noun

1. an unofficial poll or vote taken to determine the opinion of a group or the public on some issue

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straw poll Cultural  

1. Originally, a small, informal opinion survey. Today, a straw poll is generally a large-scale, scientifically determined public opinion survey based on a random sample of the population. Straw polls are commonly used to test public opinion of candidates running for office.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

straw poll

That first "straw poll" will be followed by an unspecified number of similar votes until one candidate can secure the required nine votes without a veto from any of the five permanent members.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

A quick straw poll among the team here in our office also suggested this is the case - with most school parent groups having only a handful of male members.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2025

Ms. Noem and Mr. Ramaswamy each garnered 15 percent of the vote in the straw poll.

From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2024

A Reuters straw poll of two dozen voters around the country found many with little enthusiasm for any party and torn between what they viewed as the least bad choice.

From Reuters ● Jul. 21, 2023

I conducted a straw poll on one of my mum’s WhatsApp groups.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2023