vote

Formsvotes, voting, voted

Pluralvotes

1. 1
   in an electionverbintransitive

   To participate in an election by officially indicating which candidate or option one supports.

   Millions vote in national elections every four years.

   He registered so he could vote in the upcoming election.

   Usagevote for a person or plan, vote against it, vote on a question or bill, vote in an election.

   Oppositeabstain

   Note

   Aaron Blake's 2025 headline shows how much for carries. Americans voted for deportations, but they didn't necessarily vote for this, because voting for a platform need not endorse every consequence. Adverbs attach easily too, as when Frederick William Robertson in 1848 urges people to vote bravely.

2. 2
   group decisionnouncountable

   A formal decision taken by a group or body in which each member indicates a choice; also, an occasion on which such a decision is made.

   The council's vote confirmed the new judge's appointment.

   The council will hold a vote on the new budget next week.

   UsageA group holds a vote or takes a vote on something, or puts a question to a vote.

   Similardecision, ballot

   Note

   Here the vote is the decision itself, something a body holds or puts a question to. Parliament holds a vote of confidence in a minister, a council lets a matter go to public vote, and MPs facing several options may be offered indicative votes. The reach goes well beyond politics: Matthew Robinson and Lianne Kolirin reported in 2018 that a vote redefined the kilogram and retired Le Grand K. Source

   Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Matthew Robinson and Lianne Kolirin reported the kilogram redefinition in 2018. en.wiktionary.org
   • Their report described a vote redefining the kilogram and retiring Le Grand K. kbzk.com
3. 3
   verbtransitive

   To choose or grant something by means of a vote or by general agreement.

   Congress voted the funds needed for disaster relief.

   The assembly will vote her an honorary title.

   UsageUse vote something or vote someone something: Congress voted the funds; they voted him a pension.

   Similargrant, award, allocate, approve

   Note

   In this sense the direct object names what the vote hands over. In Niles' National Register of 1845, the general court of Massachusetts voted a sum toward a college.

4. 4
   total countnoun

   The full count of votes cast in an election or ballot, or the portion of that count a candidate or party receives.

   The governor took 58 percent of the vote, her best result yet.

   Turnout was high, and the total vote topped two million for the first time.

   UsageUsually the vote for the whole count: 58 percent of the vote, but two million votes when counting ballots.

   Note

   Reports also speak of the popular vote, the total across a whole electorate, and of a vote split between two similar candidates.

5. 5
   nouncountable

   An act of taking part in a group choice, such as by submitting a ballot.

   He drove two hours to make sure his vote counted.

   After the debate, every delegate's vote was recorded.

   UsageYou cast a vote or have a vote, while a group holds one: cast your vote for a candidate.

   Similarballot

   Note

   One person's share in the decision, which is why it can be counted and multiplied, as in one person, one vote. You cast a vote, as the freeman does "with unpurchased hand" in Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.'s Poetry: A Metrical Essay. Shareholders vote too, and Directive (EU) 2017/828 asks that they learn whether their votes were correctly taken into account.

6. 6
   election rightnoun

   The entitlement, granted by law, to cast a ballot in public elections.

   Campaigners spent decades fighting for women to be given the vote.

   In some states, people in prison lose the vote while they serve their sentences.

   UsageUsually the vote, with the: women got the vote, campaigners won the vote, prisoners may lose the vote.

   Similarsuffrage, franchise

   Note

   Women were given the vote, campaigners won it, prisoners may lose it: here the phrase names the right itself, which formal and legal writing calls suffrage or the franchise.

7. 7
   blocnoun

   The combined votes of a particular section of the electorate, such as young or rural people, seen as a political force.

   Polls suggest the suburban vote will decide the race.

   Candidates court the senior vote with promises to protect Social Security.

   Usagethe + a group word + vote: the youth vote, the rural vote. Candidates court or win it.

   Note

   Candidates court, chase or win over such a vote, and commentators speak of it as if the group would choose as one, which is the point of the phrase: it treats many voters as a single force.

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