votes

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of vote.

   Election officials tallied the absentee votes late into the night.

   The measure passed by just a few hundred votes.

   Note

   The plural counts individual choices, whether ballots tallied overnight or a margin measured in votes. The same spelling is also the present-tense verb, so the sentence decides between "the votes were counted" and "she votes early." In older writing the plural can carry an obsolete sense of the singular, meaning vows, ardent wishes or prayers. In an early text, "his votes" may be a petition to heaven rather than a ballot.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of vote.

   The senator usually votes along party lines on tax bills.

   If a member abstains, the chair votes to break the tie.

   Note

   The -s form carries both of the verb's patterns. Used intransitively, it simply means casting a ballot, as when a senator votes along party lines or votes on a bill. Used transitively, it chooses or grants something by vote: the board votes the funds, the club votes him chairman. It also takes an infinitive of purpose, as when the chair votes to break a tie.

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