Poll

/pɔl/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang

adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A survey of people, usually statistically analyzed to gauge wider public opinion.
  • Grammar: poll is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: canvass, opinion poll, abbreviate, abridge.
  • Useful contrasts: anecdotal evidence, body, disregard.
  • Usage evidence: It is a prevalent belief, according to a nationwide poll in the United States, that Muslims are linked with terrorism.

How to use "poll"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "poll" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "poll" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "poll" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "poll" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "poll" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "canvass" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "poll", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A survey of people, usually statistically analyzed to gauge wider public opinion.
  2. 2
    A pet parrot.
  3. 3
    One who does not try for honors at university, but is content to take a degree merely; a passman. UK, dated
  4. 4
    A disreputable woman. UK, obsolete, slang
  5. 5
    the counting of votes (as in an election) wordnet
Show 11 more definitions
  1. 6
    A formal vote held in order to ascertain the most popular choice.

    "The student council had a poll to see what people want served in the cafeteria."

  2. 7
    a tame parrot wordnet
  3. 8
    A polling place (usually as plural, polling places)

    "The polls close at 8 p.m."

  4. 9
    the part of the head between the ears wordnet
  5. 10
    The result of the voting, the total number of votes recorded.
  6. 11
    the top of the head wordnet
  7. 12
    The head, particularly the scalp or pate upon which hair (normally) grows.

    "[…]the doctor, as if to hear better, had taken off his powdered wig, and sat there, looking very strange indeed with his own close-cropped black poll."

  8. 13
    an inquiry into public opinion conducted by interviewing a random sample of people wordnet
  9. 14
    A mass of people, a mob or muster, considered as a head count.

    "We are the greater poll, and in true fear They gave us our demands."

  10. 15
    The broad or butt end of an axe or a hammer.
  11. 16
    The pollard or European chub, a kind of fish.
Verb
  1. 1
    To take, record the votes of (an electorate). transitive
  2. 2
    convert into a pollard wordnet
  3. 3
    To solicit mock votes from (a person or group). transitive
  4. 4
    get the opinions (of people) by asking specific questions wordnet
  5. 5
    To vote at an election. intransitive

    "Mr. Millbank's friends were not disheartened, as it was known that the leading members of Mr. Rigby's Committee had polled; whereas his opponent's were principally reserved."

Show 14 more definitions
  1. 6
    get the votes of wordnet
  2. 7
    To register or deposit, as a vote; to elicit or call forth, as votes or voters.

    "He polled a hundred votes more than his opponent."

  3. 8
    vote in an election at a polling station wordnet
  4. 9
    To cut off; to remove by clipping, shearing, etc.; to mow or crop.

    "to poll the hair; to poll wool; to poll grass"

  5. 10
    To cut the hair of (a creature). transitive

    "when he [Absalom] polled his head"

  6. 11
    To remove the horns of (an animal). transitive
  7. 12
    To remove the top or end of; to clip; to lop.

    "to poll a tree"

  8. 13
    To (repeatedly) request the status of something (such as a computer or printer on a network). transitive

    "The network hub polled the department’s computers to determine which ones could still respond."

  9. 14
    To be judged in a poll. intransitive

    "The election was a resounding defeat for Robert McCartney who polled badly in the six constituencies he contested and even lost his own Assembly seat in North Down."

  10. 15
    To extort from; to plunder; to strip. Especially in conjunction with pill for emphasis. obsolete

    "they slew Julius Caesar, who neither pilled nor polled the country but only was a favorer and suborner of all them that did rob and spoil, by his countenance and authority."

  11. 16
    To impose a tax upon.
  12. 17
    To pay as one's personal tax.

    "the man that polled but twelve pence for his head"

  13. 18
    To enter, as polls or persons, in a list or register; to enroll, especially for purposes of taxation; to enumerate one by one.

    "polling the reformed churches whether they equalize in number those of his three kingdoms"

  14. 19
    To cut or shave smooth or even; to cut in a straight line without indentation

    "a polled deed"

Adjective
  1. 1
    Bred without horns, and thus hornless.

    "Poll Hereford"

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A diminutive of the female given name Mary.

    ""A gentleman, please Sir," said the blushing Mary, (or Poll as some unrespective and light-minded persons have misnamed her), and the gentleman entered."

  2. 2
    A surname transferred from the given name.
  3. 3
    A common pet name for a parrot.

Synonyms

All synonyms
canvassopinion pollabbreviateabridgeabstractad valorem duty

Antonyms

anecdotal evidencebodydisregardgrow

Example

"It is a prevalent belief, according to a nationwide poll in the United States, that Muslims are linked with terrorism."

Common questions

What does "poll" mean?

A survey of people, usually statistically analyzed to gauge wider public opinion.

What is a synonym for "poll"?

Common synonyms include: canvass, opinion poll, abbreviate, abridge, abstract, ad valorem duty.

How do you use "poll" in a sentence?

It is a prevalent belief, according to a nationwide poll in the United States, that Muslims are linked with terrorism.

How do you pronounce "poll"?

Pronounced /pɔl/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English pol, polle ("scalp, pate"), from or cognate with Middle Dutch pol, pōle, polle (“top, summit; head”), from Proto-West Germanic *poll, from Proto-Germanic *pullaz (“round object, head, top”), from Proto-Indo-European *bolno-, *bōwl- (“orb, round object, bubble”), from Proto-Indo-European *bew- (“to blow, swell”). Akin to Scots pow (“head, crown, scalp, skull”), Saterland Frisian pol (“round, full, brimming”, adjective), German Low German Polle, Poll (“round object, ball”), German Low German Poller (“head, tree-top, bulb”), Danish puld (“crown of a hat”), Swedish dialectal pull (“head”). Meaning "collection of votes" is first recorded 1625, from the notion of "counting heads".

Etymology 2

Perhaps a shortening of Polly, a common name for pet parrots.

Etymology 3

From Ancient Greek πολλοί (polloí, “the many, the masses”), as in hoi polloi.

Etymology 4

From Polly, by rhyming with Molly, from Mary.

Etymology 5

From Paul.

More for "poll"

Synonyms

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