poll

Plural: polls

Noun

an inquiry into public opinion conducted by interviewing a random sample of people
the top of the head
the part of the head between the ears
a tame parrot
the counting of votes (as in an election)
A survey of people, usually statistically analyzed to gauge wider public opinion.
A formal vote held in order to ascertain the most popular choice.
A polling place (usually as plural, polling places)
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.
A pet parrot.
One who does not try for honors at university, but is content to take a degree merely; a passman.

Verb

Verb Forms: polled, polling, polls

To ask a person a question as part of a survey.
get the opinions (of people) by asking specific questions
vote in an election at a polling station
get the votes of
convert into a pollard
- "pollard trees"
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.
To cut off; to remove by clipping, shearing, etc.; to mow or crop.
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 (repeatedly) request the status of something (such as a computer or printer on a network).
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

Adj

Bred without horns, and thus hornless.

Examples

a polled deed
He polled a hundred votes more than his opponent.
The network hub polled the department’s computers to determine which ones could still respond.
The polls close at 8 p.m.
The student council had a poll to see what people want served in the cafeteria.
to poll a tree
to poll the hair; to poll wool; to poll grass
We decided to poll the Words With Friends group on whether ’QI’ was truly a legitimate word.

Origin / Etymology

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".

Synonyms

canvas, canvass, crown, opinion poll, pate, poll parrot, pollard, public opinion poll, election, scalp, survey, vote

Scrabble Score: 6

poll: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
poll: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
poll: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 9

poll: valid Words With Friends Word