# poll

Pronunciation: say "POHL" US /poʊl/, UK /pəʊl/

## Noun

1. A survey of people, usually analyzed statistically to gauge wider public opinion.
   - Simple: A way of asking many people questions to find out what most of them think.
   - _The latest poll suggests the two candidates are nearly tied._
   - _Analysts released a poll showing rising concern about housing costs._
2. A formal round of voting held to settle which option has the most support.
   - Simple: A formal vote used to find out which choice people like best.
   - _Parliament conducted a poll to settle the disputed leadership._
   - _Members cast their ballots in a poll to choose the next chairperson._
3. The outcome of a vote, expressed as the total number of votes recorded.
   - Simple: The total number of votes that were counted in a vote.
   - _The candidate topped the poll with over half the votes._
   - _A heavy turnout pushed the poll to record numbers._
4. The place where people cast their ballots, usually referred to in the plural as the polls.
   - Simple: The place where people go to cast their votes.
   - _By state law, every poll must stay open until the evening._
   - _Long lines formed at the polls across the city._
15. The broad, blunt end of an axe or hammer head, opposite the blade or striking face.
   - Simple: The thick, flat back end of an axe or hammer head, opposite the cutting edge.
   - _She tapped the chisel using the poll of her hatchet rather than the blade._
   - _Blacksmiths often harden the poll so it can double as a hammer._
16. The head, especially the scalp or crown of the head where hair normally grows.
   - Simple: A person's or animal's head, especially the top where hair grows.
   - _The groom gently stroked the horse's poll just behind its ears._
   - _A bruise had formed across his poll where the beam struck him._
18. A gathering of people regarded as a head count: a crowd, mob, or assembly counted by number.
   - Simple: A crowd of people thought of as a number to be counted.
   - _The recruiting officer recorded the poll of able men in each parish._
   - _A noisy poll of onlookers pressed against the barriers._
23. A parrot kept in the home as a pet. (pronounced: say "POL" US /pɑl/, UK /pɒl/)
   - Simple: A tame parrot kept as a pet.
   - _Grandmother's poll greeted every visitor with the same shrill phrase._
   - _The shopkeeper kept a poll on a perch behind the counter._
25. The European chub, a freshwater fish also known as the pollard.
   - Simple: A kind of freshwater fish, the European chub.
   - _An angler landed a hefty poll from the deep pool below the bridge._
   - _The poll feeds near the surface on warm summer evenings._

## Verb

5. To take and record the votes of a body of voters.
   - Simple: To collect and count the votes of a group of people.
   - _The returning officer polled the entire electorate by noon._
   - _Election staff poll voters and log every ballot carefully._
6. To cast one's vote at an election.
   - Simple: To cast your vote in an election.
   - _Many residents polled before the morning rush._
   - _Eligible voters may poll at any local station._
7. In computing, to query a device such as a networked computer or printer for its status, usually again and again.
   - Simple: To keep asking a device whether it is ready or has new information.
   - _The controller polls every sensor in turn to read its status._
   - _Software can poll the device until it reports that it is ready._
8. To cut the hair of an animal or other creature.
   - Simple: To cut the hair or wool of an animal.
   - _Shepherds traditionally poll their flocks at the start of the warm season._
   - _She polled the pony's mane with a pair of shears._
10. To dehorn an animal by cutting off or otherwise removing its horns.
   - Simple: To remove an animal's horns.
   - _Ranchers often poll their cattle to make them safer to handle._
   - _The breeder polled the herd before transport._
11. To remove the top or end of something; to clip or lop it.
   - Simple: To cut off the top or end of something.
   - _Gardeners poll the willows each year to encourage new growth._
   - _The crew polled the dead tops off the old trees._
12. To cut off or remove by clipping, shearing, mowing, or cropping.
   - Simple: To cut something off by clipping, shearing, or mowing.
   - _Workers poll the overgrown grass before the festival._
   - _She polled the dead leaves from the border._
13. To register or deposit a vote, or to draw out votes or voters.
   - Simple: To receive a number of votes, or to get people to vote.
   - _The independent candidate polled nearly forty percent of the vote._
   - _Smaller parties rarely poll enough votes to win a seat._
14. To receive a particular result or share of votes when measured in a survey or election.
   - Simple: To get a certain result when people vote or answer a survey.
   - _Third-party candidates rarely poll above ten percent in national surveys._
   - _The measure polled strongly in coastal counties but lagged inland._
17. To request mock or trial votes from a person or group, as in a rehearsal of an actual ballot.
   - Simple: To ask a person or group to give pretend votes, as in a practice vote.
   - _The campaign staff poll volunteers to rehearse the count before election night._
   - _Organizers polled the delegates in a mock ballot to gauge support._
19. To cut or shave a surface smooth and even, making a straight edge without notches or indentation.
   - Simple: To cut something smooth and even along a straight edge.
   - _The scrivener polled the document's edge, leaving a clean straight margin._
   - _Bookbinders poll the leaves so the block sits perfectly even._
20. To enter persons one by one in a list or register, especially to enroll them for taxation.
   - Simple: To write people's names one by one in a list, often to count them for taxes.
   - _Assessors poll each resident and record them in the parish register._
   - _They polled the townsfolk to enroll them for the new levy._
21. To impose a tax upon a person or community.
   - Simple: To place a tax on a person or group.
   - _Medieval kings would poll their subjects to fund foreign campaigns._
   - _The council polled landowners to pay for the new road._
22. To pay a fixed sum as one's own individual tax.
   - Simple: To pay a set amount as your own personal tax.
   - _Every adult male would poll a fixed sum to the treasury._
   - _She polled her tax early to avoid the crowd._

## Adjective

9. Bred to be naturally without horns; hornless.
   - Simple: Born naturally without horns.
   - _Many ranchers prefer poll breeds because hornless animals injure each other less._
   - _The herd is entirely poll, the result of careful breeding._

## Noun

24. A university student who aims only at an ordinary degree rather than competing for honors; a passman. *(dated, UK)* (pronounced: say "POL" US /pɑl/, UK /pɒl/)
   - Simple: A student who takes an ordinary degree without trying for honors.
   - _Unlike his ambitious roommate, the poll sought only a plain degree._
   - _Many a poll left Cambridge with a modest pass and few regrets._

## Verb

26. To plunder, strip, or extort from someone, taking their money or possessions by force. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To rob or strip someone of money or goods by force.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–22, 25–26** — From Middle English 'pol', 'polle' ('scalp, pate'), related to Middle Dutch words for 'top' or 'head', and traceable back through Proto-Germanic *pullaz ('round object, head, top') to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to blow, swell'. The sense 'collection of votes' is first recorded in 1625, from the notion of counting heads.
**Meaning 23** — Perhaps a shortening of Polly, a common name for pet parrots.
**Meaning 24** — From Ancient Greek πολλοί (polloí, 'the many, the masses'), as in 'hoi polloi'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/poll (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).