poll

poll¹ W3 [pəul US poul] n

[Date: 1600-1700; Origin: poll 'head' (13-19 centuries), from Middle Low German; from the idea of counting heads]

1.)

the process of finding out what people think about something by asking many people the same question, or the record of the result

= ↑opinion poll, survey ↑survey

▪ A recent poll found that 80% of Californians support the governor.

▪ Polls indicate that education is the top issue with voters.

▪ Labour is ahead in the polls.

▪ The latest public opinion poll showed that 25% of us consider ourselves superstitious.

conduct/carry out/do a poll

▪ a poll conducted by USA Today

poll on

▪ a poll on eating habits

poll of

▪ a poll of 1000 people

2.) go to the polls

to vote in an election

▪ 10 million voters went to the polls.

3.) [singular] BrE

the process of voting in an election, or the number of votes recorded

▪ Labour won the election with 40% of the poll.

▪ The result of the poll won't be known until around midnight.

4.) the polls

the place where you can go to vote in an election

▪ The polls will close in an hour.

poll ²

poll² v [T]

1.) to ask a lot of people the same questions in order to find out what they think about a subject

▪ 18% of the women we polled said their husbands had a drinking problem.

2.) to get a particular number of votes in an election

▪ Labour polled just 4% of the vote.