Definition of POLL
head; the top or back of the head; nape… See the full definition
poll
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Definition of
poll
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
:
head
2
a
:
the top or back of the head
b
:
nape
3
:
the broad or flat end of a striking tool (such as a hammer)
4
a
(1)
:
the casting or recording of the votes of a body of persons
(2)
:
a counting of votes cast
b
:
the place where votes are cast or recorded
—
usually used in plural
at the
polls
c
:
the period of time during which votes may be cast at an election
d
:
the total number of votes recorded
a heavy
poll
5
a
:
a questioning or canvassing of persons selected at random or by quota to obtain information or opinions to be analyzed
b
:
a record of the information so obtained
poll
polled
;
polling
;
polls
Definition of
poll
(Entry 2 of 2)
1
a
:
to cut off or cut short the hair or wool of
:
crop
,
shear
b
:
to cut off or cut short (a material, such as wool)
2
a
:
to cut off or back the top of (something, such as a tree)
specifically
:
pollard
b
:
to cut off or cut short the horns of (cattle)
3
a
:
to receive and record the votes of
b
:
to request each member of to declare a vote individually
poll
the assembly
4
:
to receive (votes) in an election
5
:
to question or canvass in a poll
6
:
to check (devices, such as several computer terminals sharing a single line) in sequence for messages waiting to be transmitted
:
to cast one’s vote at a poll
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Other Words from
poll
Verb
pollee
noun
poller
noun
Synonyms for
poll
Synonyms: Noun
,
[
slang
]
,
,
,
(
or
)
[
chiefly dialect
]
,
,
,
,
,
[
slang
]
,
Synonyms: Verb
(
also
)
,
,
,
Examples of
poll
in a Sentence
Noun
The magazine conducted a
poll
to find out the favorite 100 movies of all time.
A recent
poll
shows a decrease in the number of teenagers who smoke.
The polls
are open until 8:00 tonight.
Verb
About half of the people
polled
had tried smoking.
The conservative candidate
polled
more than 10,000 votes in the last election.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The
poll
surveyed 1,000 likely voters between Thursday and Sunday and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
—
Michael Lee,
Washington Examiner
, “Republicans less likely to buy Coca-Cola products after company opposed Georgia election law: Poll,” 22 Apr. 2021
Russellville’s boys’ team, ranked fourth in the Class 4A/5A
poll
, is 17-0.
—
al
, “Week 11 prep soccer polls: Spain Park boys take top spot in Class 7A,” 22 Apr. 2021
An online
poll
of Survivor Corps members gave cause for hope.
—
Cliff Pinckard,
cleveland
, “Cleveland Metroparks wants to add island, cove to Lake Erie: The Wake Up for Thursday, April 22, 2021,” 22 Apr. 2021
Jones’s support had grown significantly since coming in at 3 percent in a February CNU
poll
, while Herring’s support stayed the same.
—
Washington Post
, “CNU poll finds McAuliffe with significant lead in race for Democratic nomination for governor,” 22 Apr. 2021
The Minnesota State Mankato baseball team (22-4, 18-3 NSIC) moved up 11 spots to 14th in this week’s National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II
poll
.
—
Star Tribune
, “Gophers gymnast Lexy Ramler receives top national award,” 21 Apr. 2021
Every single public opinion
poll
demonstrates over and over again that the winning position is in favor of cannabis reform.
—
Ryan Bort,
Rolling Stone
, “Steve DeAngelo, the ‘Father of Legal Cannabis,’ on What’s Next for the Movement,” 20 Apr. 2021
When a July 2020 Gallup
poll
asked people to describe their experience interacting with police over the prior year, 59 percent of Black respondents described the interaction as positive, compared to 79 percent of White respondents.
—
San Diego Union-Tribune
, “Column: Law enforcement leaders responded to the U-T’s racial disparities project. They missed the point,” 20 Apr. 2021
In a separate interview over the weekend on CNN’s State of the Union, in fact, Dr. Fauci expressed frustration with a
poll
showing that a little less than half of GOP voters don’t want anything to do with the coronavirus vaccine.
—
Andy Meek,
Forbes
, “WATCH: Marshawn Lynch Interviews Dr. Fauci And Asks Better Questions Than Most Journalists,” 20 Apr. 2021
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Yonhy Lescano, a left-leaning populist and 20-year veteran of Congress, is the only candidate to
poll
in double digits (around a measly 13%).
—
The Economist
, “The least bad option In Peru’s presidential race there is no clear front runner,” 27 Mar. 2021
The prohibition on people giving water within 150 feet of a polling station to people standing in line, although drinks can be given to
poll
workers to distribute and water stations made generally available?
—
The Editors,
National Review
, “Mighty Casey Gets Woke,” 3 Apr. 2021
On Tuesday, the group delivered 10 pizzas from Rosati’s Pizza to
poll
workers working at Brookfield City Hall.
—
Evan Casey,
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
, “The Pizza to the Polls organization has sent over 3,800 pizzas to 317 polling places this year, including Brookfield,” 22 Oct. 2020
Both surveys
poll
only people who’ve been living in Georgia at least a year.
—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune
, “Georgia Senate races: Data scientist’s final prediction has Democrats taking both seats,” 5 Jan. 2021
The arguments have so far failed to connect, in part because many of its core provisions
poll
strongly — even with Republicans.
—
Emily Cochrane,
BostonGlobe.com
, “Republicans struggle to halt increasingly popular $1.9 trillion economic rescue package,” 19 Feb. 2021
Nevada is a complicated state that can be difficult to
poll
.
—
David M. Drucker,
Washington Examiner
, “Biden defeats Trump in Nevada, Associated Press says,” 7 Nov. 2020
For the 2020 election, the organization has developed its own survey to
poll
voters by mail, phone, and online to help inform its election night decisions.
—
Amy Mckeever,
National Geographic
, “Counting votes on Election Day has always been complex—and it may be more so in 2020,” 29 Oct. 2020
But the exchanges showed Pence take aim at one of the few areas where Trump, and Republicans at large, manage to consistently
poll
ahead of Democrats.
—
Rey Mashayekhi,
Fortune
, “Where Harris and Pence won and lost in the vice presidential debate,” 8 Oct. 2020
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘poll.’ Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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.
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First Known Use of
poll
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined at
sense 1
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at
transitive sense 1a
History and Etymology for
poll
Noun
Middle English
pol, polle
, from Middle Low German
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poll
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poll
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poll
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poll
Last Updated
24 Apr 2021
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Cite this Entry
“Poll.”
Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary
, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poll. Accessed 30 Apr. 2021.
Style:
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poll
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All synonyms and antonyms for
poll
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Translation of
poll
for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English:
Translation of
poll
for Arabic Speakers
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poll
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