poll

SayPOHLUS/poʊl/UK/pəʊl/

26 meanings of poll

1
nouncountable
A way of asking many people questions to find out what most of them think.
Like asking everyone in a room to raise a hand, then counting the hands.
The new poll shows that most people support the plan.
We took a poll in class to choose the movie.
Similarsurvey
Note
2
nouncountable
A formal vote used to find out which choice people like best.
Like a show of hands to decide something as a group.
The club held a poll to pick its new president.
Each member took part in the poll about the schedule change.
Similarvote, election
3
nouncountable
The total number of votes that were counted in a vote.
The poll was close, with only twenty votes between them.
She won the poll by a wide margin.
Similarvote, tally, count
4
nouncountable
The place where people go to cast their votes.
Like a special station set up just for voting.
Voters lined up outside the poll before it opened.
The polls close at eight tonight.
5
verbtransitive
To collect and count the votes of a group of people.
Like going around and writing down what each person picks.
Officials will poll every voter in the district.
They polled the members to record each choice.
6
verbintransitive
To cast your vote in an election.
Thousands polled early on election day.
Citizens who poll regularly help shape the result.
Similarvote
Oppositeabstain
7
verbtransitive
To keep asking a device whether it is ready or has new information.
Like asking 'Are you done yet?' over and over until you get an answer.
The program will poll the printer every few seconds.
The server polled each computer to check for updates.
Similarquery, ping, check
Note
8
verbtransitive
To cut the hair or wool of an animal.
The farmer polled the sheep before summer.
They poll the goats each spring to keep them cool.
Similarshear, clip, trim, crop
Note
9
adjective
Born naturally without horns.
Like some dogs born without tails: these animals never grow horns.
The breeder keeps poll cattle to avoid the danger of horns.
A poll calf was born on the farm this morning.
Similarhornless
Oppositehorned
Note
10
verbtransitive
To remove an animal's horns.
The vet will poll the young calf next week.
Farmers polled the cattle to prevent injuries.
Similardehorn

11
verbtransitive
To cut off the top or end of something.
Workers poll the tall hedges every fall.
He polled the branches that hung over the road.
Similarpollard, lop, top, prune, trim
12
verbtransitive
To cut something off by clipping, shearing, or mowing.
They poll the wool from the sheep each spring.
The gardener polled the long grass along the fence.
Similartrim, cut, clip, crop, mow
13
verbtransitive
To receive a number of votes, or to get people to vote.
The new party polled thousands of votes in its first election.
A strong candidate may poll most of the votes in a single district.
Similarwin, receive, garner, get
14
verbintransitive
To get a certain result when people vote or answer a survey.
Like a test score that shows how much people like an idea.
Challengers like her often poll well before the vote.
The idea polled badly with parents.
Similarscore
Note
15
nouncountable
The thick, flat back end of an axe or hammer head, opposite the cutting edge.
Like the flat back of a knife, used for pushing instead of cutting.
He hammered the stake in with the poll of his axe.
The poll of the old hammer was chipped and rusty.
Similarbutt
16
nouncountable
A person's or animal's head, especially the top where hair grows.
Like the very top of your head, where a hat sits.
The barber ran his clippers over the boy's poll.
She felt a tender bump on her poll after the fall.
Similarscalp
Note
17
verbtransitive
To ask a person or group to give pretend votes, as in a practice vote.
Like a practice vote held before the real one.
Before the real election, organizers poll the students for a trial run.
They polled the committee to test the idea before the official vote.
Similarsurvey, canvass
18
nouncountable
A crowd of people thought of as a number to be counted.
Like counting how many people are in a room.
A great poll of villagers gathered in the square.
The captain counted the poll of soldiers before the march.
Similarcrowd, throng, headcount
Note
19
verbtransitive
To cut something smooth and even along a straight edge.
Like cutting paper along a ruler so the edge is perfectly straight.
The clerk would poll the edge of the parchment so it ran straight.
Craftsmen poll the top of the binding to leave it flat.
Similartrim
Note
20
verbtransitive
To write people's names one by one in a list, often to count them for taxes.
Like a teacher writing down each student's name to count the class.
Officials would poll every household in the village for the tax records.
The clerk polled the men one by one as they entered.
Similarregister, enroll, list, enumerate
21
verbtransitive
To place a tax on a person or group.
Like a club making every member pay a fee.
The crown would poll every freeman in the shire.
They polled the peasants heavily after the war.
Similartax
22
verbtransitive
To pay a set amount as your own personal tax.
Like each person paying the same ticket price to get in.
Each worker had to poll a shilling that year.
He polled his due at the town hall.
Similarpay
Note
23
SayPOLUS/pɑl/UK/pɒl/
nouncountable
A tame parrot kept as a pet.
Like a pet bird that lives in a cage at home.
The old sailor taught his poll to whistle a tune.
A green poll sat squawking in its cage by the window.
Similarparrot
Note
24
SayPOLUS/pɑl/UK/pɒl/
noundatedUKcountable
A student who takes an ordinary degree without trying for honors.
Like a student happy with a passing grade who does not aim for top marks.
As a poll, he was happy just to pass his exams.
The poll spent more time rowing than studying.
Note
25
nouncountable
A kind of freshwater fish, the European chub.
Like a common river fish such as a carp.
The boy caught a fat poll in the slow river.
We grilled a poll we pulled from the weir.
Similarchub
26
verbobsolete
To rob or strip someone of money or goods by force.
Which pols and pils the poore in piteous wize
1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie QueeneHere, pols means robs or strips people of money by force.
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.
1579, Thomas North, Plutarch's Parallel LivesHere, polled means robbed or stripped people of money by force.
Note

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–22, 25–26

It comes from an old Middle English word 'pol' meaning the top of the head or scalp. The meaning 'collection of votes' came later, around 1625, from the idea of counting heads.

Meaning 23

Perhaps a short form of Polly, a common name for pet parrots.

Meaning 24

From the Ancient Greek word 'polloi', meaning 'the many' or 'the masses', as in 'hoi polloi'.