poll

UK: /ˈpəʊl/ US: /poʊl/ ,(pōl for 1; pol for 2, 3)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

poll¹ /poʊl/   n. [countable]

1. Government a sampling of opinions on a subject, taken from a group of people, as for analysis:
   The opinion polls show great interest in the economy.
2. Government the act of voting in an election.
3. Government Usually, polls. [plural] the place where votes are cast:
   Polls are open at five-thirty in the morning.
4. Government the number of votes cast:
   a light poll.

v. [~ + object]

5. Government to ask questions about the attitudes or opinions of (people):
   Students were polled on their preferences.
6. Government to receive (a number of votes) at the polls:
   polled nearly six thousand more votes than her opponent.

poll•er, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

poll¹  (pōl), n. 

1. Government a sampling or collection of opinions on a subject, taken from either a selected or a random group of persons, as for the purpose of analysis.
2. Government Usually, polls. the place where votes are taken.
3. Government the registering of votes, as at an election.
4. Government the voting at an election.
5. Government the number of votes cast.
6. Government the numerical result of the voting.
7. Government an enumeration or a list of individuals, as for purposes of taxing or voting.
8. Government See poll tax. 
9. Government a person or individual in a number or list.
10. Anatomy the head, esp. the part of it on which the hair grows.
11. Anatomy the back of the head.
12. Zoology the rear portion of the head of a horse;
    the nape. See diag. under horse. 
13. Zoology the part of the head between the ears of certain animals, as the horse and cow.
14. the broad end or face of a hammer.

v.t. 

15. Government to take a sampling of the attitudes or opinions of.
16. Government to receive at the polls, as votes.
17. Government to enroll (someone) in a list or register, as for purposes of taxing or voting.
18. Government to take or register the votes of (persons).
19. Government to deposit or cast at the polls, as a vote.
20. Government to bring to the polls, as voters.
21. Zoology to cut short or cut off the hair, wool, etc., of (an animal);
    crop;
    clip;
    shear.
22. Zoology to cut short or cut off (hair, wool, etc.).
23. Botany to cut off the top of (a tree);
    pollard.
24. Zoology to cut off or cut short the horns of (cattle).

v.i. 

25. to vote at the polls;
    give one's vote.

• Middle Low German: hair of the head, top of a tree or other plant; akin to Danish puld, Swedish pull crown of the head
• Middle English polle (hair of the) head 1250–1300

poll′a•ble, adj. 
poll′er, n. 

poll²  (pol), n. 

1. (esp. at Cambridge University, England)
2. Education the body of students who read for or obtain a degree without honors.
3. Education Also called poll′ degree′. See pass degree. 

• Greek polloí, in hoi polloí the many; see poly-
• apparently 1785–95

poll³  (pol), n. 

1. Birds polly.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

poll / pəʊl/ noun

1. the casting, recording, or counting of votes in an election; a voting
2. the result or quantity of such a voting: a heavy poll
3. Also called: opinion poll a canvassing of a representative sample of a large group of people on some question in order to determine the general opinion of the group
4. the results or record of such a canvassing
5. any counting or enumeration
6. short for poll tax
7. the occipital or back part of the head of an animal

verb (mainly tr)

1. to receive (a vote or quantity of votes): she polled 10 000 votes
2. to receive, take, or record the votes of: we polled the whole town
3. to canvass (a person, group, area, etc) as part of a survey of opinion
4. (sometimes intr) to cast (a vote) in an election
5. to clip or shear
6. to remove or cut short the horns of (cattle)

Etymology: 13th Century (in the sense: a human head) and C17 (in the modern sense: a counting of heads, votes): from Middle Low German polle hair of the head, head, top of a tree; compare Swedish pull crown of the head