ballot
Plural: ballots
Noun
- a document listing the alternatives that is used in voting
- a choice that is made by counting the number of people in favor of each alternative
- A small ball placed in a container to cast a vote; now, by extension, a piece of paper or card used for this purpose, or some other means used to signify a vote.
- The process of voting, especially in secret; a round of voting.
- The total of all the votes cast in an election.
- A list of candidates running for office; a ticket.
Verb
Verb Forms: balloted, balloting, ballots
- To vote or decide on something collectively.
- vote by ballot
- "The voters were balloting in this state"
- To vote or decide by ballot.
- To draw lots.
- To invite to vote on a proposal.
Examples
- The trade union balloted its members for strike action.
- to ballot for a candidate
- We had to ballot to see if ’GEEZ’ was a real word before the official dictionary arrived.
Origin / Etymology
Borrowed from Italian balota (obsolete), ballotta (“small ball, especially one used to register a vote”), from balla (“bale, bundle”) + -otta (suffix forming diminutive nouns); or from Middle French balote (obsolete), ballotte (“small ball used to register a vote”) (also compare Middle French balotiage, French ballottage (“second ballot, runoff”)); both ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *ballu (“ball”), from Proto-Germanic *balluz (“ball”).
Scrabble Score: 8
ballot: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordballot: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
ballot: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary