poll.
A survey of people, usually statistically analyzed to gauge wider public opinion.
Meaning & usage
A survey of people, usually statistically analyzed to gauge wider public opinion.
A formal vote held in order to ascertain the most popular choice.
The student council had a poll to see what people want served in the cafeteria.
A polling place (usually as plural, polling places).
The polls close at 8 p.m.
The result of the voting, the total number of votes recorded.
The head, particularly the scalp or pate upon which hair (normally) grows.
A mass of people, a mob or muster, considered as a head count.
The broad or butt end of an axe or a hammer.
The pollard or European chub, a kind of fish.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English pol, polle ("scalp, pate"), from or cognate with Middle Dutch pol, pōle, polle (“top, summit; head”), from Proto-West Germanic *poll, from Proto-Germanic *pullaz (“round object, head, top”), from Proto-Indo-European *bolno-, *bōwl- (“orb, round object, bubble”), from Proto-Indo-European *bew- (“to blow, swell”). Akin to Scots pow (“head, crown, scalp, skull”), Saterland Frisian pol (“round, full, brimming”, adjective), German Low German Polle, Poll (“round object, ball”), German Low German Poller (“head, tree-top, bulb”), Danish puld (“crown of a hat”), Swedish dialectal pull (“head”). Meaning "collection of votes" is first recorded 1625, from the notion of "counting heads".
To take, record the votes of (an electorate).
To solicit mock votes from (a person or group).
To vote at an election.
To register or deposit, as a vote; to elicit or call forth, as votes or voters.
He polled a hundred votes more than his opponent.
To cut off; to remove by clipping, shearing, etc.; to mow or crop.
to poll the hair; to poll wool; to poll grass
To cut the hair of (a creature).
To remove the horns of (an animal).
To remove the top or end of; to clip; to lop.
to poll a tree
To (repeatedly) request the status of something (such as a computer or printer on a network).
The network hub polled the department’s computers to determine which ones could still respond.
To be judged in a poll.
To extort from; to plunder; to strip. Especially in conjunction with pill for emphasis.
To impose a tax upon.
To pay as one's personal tax.
To enter, as polls or persons, in a list or register; to enroll, especially for purposes of taxation; to enumerate one by one.
To cut or shave smooth or even; to cut in a straight line without indentation.
a polled deed
Where this word comes from
From Middle English pol, polle ("scalp, pate"), from or cognate with Middle Dutch pol, pōle, polle (“top, summit; head”), from Proto-West Germanic *poll, from Proto-Germanic *pullaz (“round object, head, top”), from Proto-Indo-European *bolno-, *bōwl- (“orb, round object, bubble”), from Proto-Indo-European *bew- (“to blow, swell”). Akin to Scots pow (“head, crown, scalp, skull”), Saterland Frisian pol (“round, full, brimming”, adjective), German Low German Polle, Poll (“round object, ball”), German Low German Poller (“head, tree-top, bulb”), Danish puld (“crown of a hat”), Swedish dialectal pull (“head”). Meaning "collection of votes" is first recorded 1625, from the notion of "counting heads".
Bred without horns, and thus hornless.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English pol, polle ("scalp, pate"), from or cognate with Middle Dutch pol, pōle, polle (“top, summit; head”), from Proto-West Germanic *poll, from Proto-Germanic *pullaz (“round object, head, top”), from Proto-Indo-European *bolno-, *bōwl- (“orb, round object, bubble”), from Proto-Indo-European *bew- (“to blow, swell”). Akin to Scots pow (“head, crown, scalp, skull”), Saterland Frisian pol (“round, full, brimming”, adjective), German Low German Polle, Poll (“round object, ball”), German Low German Poller (“head, tree-top, bulb”), Danish puld (“crown of a hat”), Swedish dialectal pull (“head”). Meaning "collection of votes" is first recorded 1625, from the notion of "counting heads".
A pet parrot.
Where this word comes from
Perhaps a shortening of Polly, a common name for pet parrots.
One who does not try for honors at university, but is content to take a degree merely; a passman.
Where this word comes from
From Ancient Greek πολλοί (polloí, “the many, the masses”), as in hoi polloi.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.