poll

poll — noun

IPA/pəʊl/
KK[pˈol]IPA/pəʊl/
  • pollsingular
  • pollsplural

1. a set of questions asked to a group of people so that you can learn what most pe

1.nounB2
Definition

a set of questions asked to a group of people so that you can learn what most people think about an issue, person, or plan.

Example

A campus poll found most students wanted longer library hours.

collocation: conduct or run a poll

The newspaper ran a poll on bus fares before the election.

poll on + topic

Common collocations
  • conduct a poll
  • run a poll
  • opinion poll
  • poll results
Synonyms
  • survey

    broader and often longer, covering facts or habits as well as opinions

  • questionnaire

    the written list of questions rather than the whole opinion study

  • straw poll

    an informal quick check, often before a final decision

Grammar Patterns

conduct/run a poll

poll on/about + topic

Usage Note

Often used for public opinion, elections, or customer choices. Distinguish from sense 3: sense 1 is the survey itself, not the act of voting.

Common Mistakes

The school made a poll about uniforms.
The school conducted a poll on uniforms.
with this noun sense, 'conduct' or 'run' is more natural, and the topic usually follows with 'on'.

2. the place where people go to cast their votes in an election, usually expressed

2.nounB2
Definition

the place where people go to cast their votes in an election, usually expressed in the plural as the polls.

Example

Voters lined up at the polls before sunrise in Kaohsiung.

usually plural: the polls

The town opened the polls at seven on Tuesday morning.

the polls open/close

Common collocations
  • go to the polls
  • at the polls
  • open the polls
  • close the polls
Synonyms
  • polling place

    the most direct equivalent, common in election instructions

  • voting station

    often used for the official location where voting happens

  • polling station

    common in British English for the place where people vote

Grammar Patterns

go to the polls

the polls open/close

Usage Note

Normally appears as the polls, especially after go to, at, open, and close. Distinguish from sense 3, which names the voting process or period.

Common Mistakes

We went to the poll at noon.
We went to the polls at noon.
this place sense is usually plural.

3. the act of voting in an election, or the counting period when those votes are be

3.nounC1
Definition

the act of voting in an election, or the counting period when those votes are being recorded.

Example

The poll began at eight and ended after the storm passed.

poll = voting period

Election workers stayed late because the poll and count ran past midnight.

Common collocations
  • the poll begins
  • the poll ends
  • during the poll
  • after the poll
Synonyms
  • voting

    the plain everyday word for the act itself

  • balloting

    more formal and often used in official procedures

  • count

    narrower when the focus is only on adding up the votes

Grammar Patterns

the poll begins/ends

during/after the poll

Usage Note

More formal than everyday vote and most common in election reports. Sense 3 refers to the event or period, while sense 4 refers to the number of votes.

4. the full number of votes that a candidate or party gets in an election.

4.nounC1
Definition

the full number of votes that a candidate or party gets in an election.

Example

The party's poll rose by twenty thousand votes across the island.

possessive: the party's poll

Her final poll was 48,000 votes, far above local forecasts.

final poll = total votes received

Common collocations
  • final poll
  • heavy poll
  • strong poll
  • double one's poll
Synonyms
  • vote total

    a clear modern phrase for the number of votes received

  • tally

    focuses on the total after counting

  • count

    can mean the total result, especially after counting ends

Grammar Patterns

somebody's poll

final/heavy/strong poll

Usage Note

Often appears with a possessive or with adjectives such as final, heavy, or strong. Distinguish from sense 1, where a poll asks questions, and sense 3, where a poll is the voting event.

poll — verb

IPA/pəʊl/
KK[pˈol]IPA/poʊl/

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For noun sense 1, poll usually means a structured check of what people think at a particular time, often by asking only a sample of the whole group. Survey is broader: it can study habits, experiences, or facts as well as opinions, and it is often longer. A questionnaire is the actual list of questions or form that people answer, not the whole research activity. A census is much larger because it aims to count or ask every person in a population, not just a sample. A straw poll is informal and quick, often used to test opinion before a final choice. A TV station may run a poll, a school may conduct a survey, a clinic may hand out a questionnaire, and a government carries out a census.

survey ↗questionnaire ↗census ↗straw poll

Etymology

Middle Low GermanMiddle EnglishEnglish

Poll came into English in the Middle English period, probably from a Low German source. Its earliest meaning was 'head'. From the idea of counting heads, English developed uses for counting people, then votes in an election, and later the modern sense of asking a sample of people what they think.