the vote
the vote — idiom
1. the guaranteed freedom to participate in an election by casting a ballot, especi
the guaranteed freedom to participate in an election by casting a ballot, especially in a country's political system — for example, the right of women to vote in national elections, or the right of citizens aged eighteen and over to choose their leaders.
Women in Switzerland finally gained the vote in 1971, after decades of campaigning.
collocation: gained + the vote
Sahil felt proud to exercise the vote for the first time at age nineteen.
collocation: exercise + the vote
The new constitution gave the vote to every citizen over the age of eighteen.
Yasmin's grandmother fought for the vote during a time when women were routinely denied it.
In some countries immigrants have the vote only after they become citizens.
- suffrage
more formal and abstract; often used in historical or legal writing ('universal suffrage').
- franchise
formal, especially British English; common in political science ('the franchise was extended').
- voting rights
plural form, often used in legal contexts or activist language ('voting rights for minorities').
- disenfranchisement
the state of being denied the vote; opposite of having the vote.
文法句型
have + the vote
gain + the vote
give + someone + the vote
fight for + the vote
deny + someone + the vote
用法筆記
Always used with the definite article 'the'; never 'a vote' or 'votes' in this sense. The phrase cannot be made plural ('the votes' would refer to individual ballots, not the right). Common verb partners include: gain, get, win, have, exercise, give, grant, deny, fight for.