ballot
Syllables: bal·lot/ˈbælət/US/ˈbælət/
ballot noun: 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.
Noun
ballot (plural ballots)
- 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.
- Imagine if the outcome in Michigan is close, and 75% of Biden supporters vote absentee, yet 10% or more of those ballots are rejected.2020 September 14, Richard H. Pildes, “The three words that can avert an election nightmare”, in CNN
- In Wyoming, a GOP state senator forwarded an FGA draft bill to Secretary of State Chuck Gray that would prohibit sending out unsolicited absentee ballot request forms.2024 March 17, Daniel Medina and Bob Ortega, “Emails show how a right-wing group steers GOP leaders on major policy issues”, in CNN
- Synonyms:
- ballot paper, voting slip
- The process of voting, especially in secret; a round of voting.
- July 1836, A. B. (initials of author), London and Westminster Review Article XI, Bribery and Intimidation at Elections
the insufficiency of the ballot - In the TSSA ballot, 80% of management grade and 60% of general grade members voted to accept, on an overall turnout of 57%.2023 March 9, Mel Holley, “TSSA accepts offer, but RMT sets new strike dates”, in RAIL, number 978, page 11
- July 1836, A. B. (initials of author), London and Westminster Review Article XI, Bribery and Intimidation at Elections
- The total of all the votes cast in an election.
- A list of candidates running for office; a ticket.
Verb
ballot (third-person singular simple present ballots, present participle balloting, simple past and past participle balloted)
ballot meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
ballot in Hindi
- ballot
- चिट्ठी ciṭṭhī
ballot in Tamil
- சீட்டு, குடஒலை, வாக்குச் சீட்டு, ஓட்டு, மறைவான வாக்களிப்பு, வாக்களிப்புச் சீட்டுகள்
ballot in Urdu
- انتخابی پرچی, قرعہ
ballot in Bengali
- গুপ্তমত
More languagesFewer languages
- ballot in Malayalam
- രഹസ്യമായി വോട്ടു ചെയ്യുന്ന രീതി, വോട്ടിനുപയോഗിക്കുന്ന പത്രം
- ballot in Kannada
- ಒಪ್ಪಿತ, ರಹಸ್ಯ ಮತದಾನ, ಓಟು ಹಾಕುವುದು, ಮತಪತ್ರ
- ballot in Gujarati
- પતાકડું patākḍũ
- ballot in Nepali
- चिट्ठा ciṭṭhā
- ballot in Tagalog
- balota
- ballot in Arabic
- تَصْوِيت taṣwīt
- ballot in Malay
- kertas undi
- ballot in Indonesian
- kertas suara, surat suara
- ballot in Vietnamese
- lá phiếu, phiếu bầu cử, phiếu bầu, bỏ phiếu
- ballot in Myanmar
- မဲ mai:
Examples of ballot in a sentence
- Time to tell all the ballots cast by voters in the box.
- Please vote your ballot using black or blue ink, then seal your ballot inside the privacy envelope.
- The wording of the ballot paper loaded the vote in favour of the Conservative candidate.
Synonyms of ballot
Forms of ballot
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | ballots |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | ballots |
| present participle | balloting |
| past participle | balloted |
| past | balloted |
Origin of ballot
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”).
Words formed from ballot
- absentee ballot
- Australian ballot
- ballotation
- ballot box
- ballot-box stuffing
- ballot candy
- ballot chasing
- ballot collecting
- ballot curing
- balloter
- ballotful
- ballot harvesting
- ballotist
- ballotless
- ballot stuffing
- bedsheet ballot
- blanket ballot
- bullet ballot
- butterfly ballot
- down-ballot
- e-ballot
- jungle ballot
- long ballot
- Massachusetts ballot
- paper ballot
- postal ballot
- preballot
- ranked ballot
- secret ballot
- short ballot
- straw ballot
- reballot
Phrases with ballot
Words that rhyme with ballot
Questions about ballot
- What does ballot mean?
- Ballot means 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.
- What is ballot in Hindi?
- Ballot in Hindi is चिट्ठी (ciṭṭhī). See Ballot meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is ballot?
- Ballot can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce ballot?
- Ballot is pronounced /ˈbælət/ (UK).
- What is the plural of ballot?
- The plural of ballot is ballots.
Words near ballot in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ballot (page history and authors); चिट्ठी (Hindi) (page history and authors); ballot (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ballot (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ballot (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ballot (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ballot (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); પતાકડું (Gujarati) (page history and authors); चिट्ठा (Nepali) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-ballot.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-ballot.wav.
Cite this entry: “ballot.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ballot. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.