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ballot

Pronunciation: /ˈbalət/

Translate ballot | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of ballot

noun

  • a system of voting secretly and in writing on a particular issue:a strike ballot [mass noun]:the commissioners were elected by ballot
  • (the ballot) the total number of votes cast in a ballot:he won 54 per cent of the ballot
  • the piece of paper used to record a person’s vote: there were fifty-three abstentions and twenty-eight spoilt ballots
  • a lottery held to decide the allocation of tickets, shares, or other things among a number of applicants: a ballot decides which investors will be successful in buying the stock

verb (ballots, balloting, balloted)

[with object]
  • (of an organization) ask (members) to vote secretly on an issue:the union is preparing to ballot its members on industrial action
  • [no object] cast one’s vote on an issue: [with infinitive]:ambulance crews balloted unanimously to reject the deal
  • decide the allocation of (something) to applicants by drawing lots: if the offer is oversubscribed acceptances will be balloted

Origin:

mid 16th century (originally denoting a small coloured ball placed in a container to register a vote): from Italian ballotta, diminutive of balla (see ball1)

Spelling rule

Do not double the final consonant when adding endings which begin with a vowel to a word which ends in a vowel plus a consonant, if the stress is not at the end of the word (as in target): (ballots, balloting, balloted).

ballot in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of ballot in the US English dictionary

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