vote

UK /vəʊt/ US /voʊt/

noun 6verb 3

Definitions

noun

A formalized choice on legally relevant measures such as employment or appointment to office or a proceeding about a legal dispute.

The city council decided the matter should go to public vote.

Parliament will hold a vote of confidence regarding the minister.

An act or instance of participating in such a choice, e.g., by submitting a ballot.

The Supreme Court upheld the principle of one person, one vote.

There breathes no being but has some pretence / To that fine instinct called poetic sense; […] / The freeman, casting with unpurchased hand / The vote that shakes the turrets of the land.

An ardent wish or desire; a vow; a prayer.

Jol[ante]. In you, Sir, / I live; and when, or by the Courſe of Nature, / Or Violence you muſt fall, the End of my / Devotions is, that one and the ſame Hour / May make us fit for Heaven. // Server. I join with you / In my votes that way: […]

A formalized petition or request.

Any judgment of intellect leading to a formal opinion, a point of view.

verb

To cast a vote; to assert a formalized choice in an election.

Q: Did you vote last month? A: Yes. I voted for John Smith, and it's a shame that he lost; you can't blame me for the mess we're in now.

The directors voted on the question of whether to increase the R&D spending.

To choose or grant (some objective) by means of a vote, or by general consent.

The directors voted an increase in R&D spending.

Citizens often vote their pocketbooks, not their conscience.

To exercise one's voting right upon (a ballot or a share of stock).

vote your ballot

vote your shares

noun

A person from Votia or of Votic descent.

Collocations

(noun.) the vote: legal right to vote in elections

VERB + VOTE

have

The board members will have a vote on the new company policy next Friday.

(verb.)

ADV

overwhelmingly

unanimously

All the club members voted unanimously to change the meeting time to next week.

narrowly

The committee narrowly voted in favor of extending the deadline by two weeks.

formally

The board members formally voted to approve the new company policy yesterday afternoon.

tactically

down, in, out

The committee members voted out the old chairman at yesterday's meeting.

VERB + VOTE

be eligible to, be entitled to

All citizens who are entitled to vote should participate in the election.

intend to

PREP

against

Most citizens voted against the new tax increase in last week's election.

for

The majority of citizens voted for the proposal to build a new community center.

Many people waited in long lines to vote in the local election last year.

in favour of

Most employees voted in favour of the new flexible working policy.

into

A new mayor was voted into office last month by the local community.

off

The unpopular team captain was voted off by the other players.

on/upon

The school council will vote on whether to extend the lunch break next week.

onto, out of

The new committee members were voted onto the board during last week's meeting.

(by) to

The committee voted 7 to 5 in favor of extending the library hours.

with

The opposition decided to vote with the ruling party on the education bill.

PHRASES

the right to vote

Many countries didn't give women the right to vote until the 20th century.

a round of voting

The committee held a round of voting to decide which project would receive funding.

vote Conservative, Labour, Republican, etc., vote no/yes

In the last election, my parents voted Labour while my sister voted Conservative.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — a choice that is made by counting the number of people in fa

ballot
voting
balloting

noun — a legal right guaranteed by the 15th amendment to the US Con

suffrage

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

vote down

To defeat (some measure or candidate) by a majority vote.

His wife voted down the project the moment he suggested it.

vote with one's feet

To express one's preferences through one's actions, by voluntarily participating in or withdrawing from an activity, group, or process; especially, by physical migration to leave a situation one does not like, or to move to a situation one

But Khrushchev's economic plan for the East Germans means a new kind of dependence on their old Russian foes, and its fulfillment is a political question—on which East Germans, wha

cast one's vote

To vote for something.

clothespin vote

A vote that is cast for a given candidate despite personal reservations or a distaste for that individual.

old enough to vote

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see old, enough, vote.

Example Bank

The city council decided the matter should go to public vote.

Wiktionary

Parliament will hold a vote of confidence regarding the minister.

Wiktionary

One occasion indicative votes were used was in 2003 when MPs were presented with seven different options on how to reform the House of Lords.

Wiktionary

Q: Did you vote last month? A: Yes. I voted for John Smith, and it's a shame that he lost; you can't blame me for the mess we're in now.

Wiktionary

The directors voted on the question of whether to increase the R&D spending.

Wiktionary

To vote on large principles, to vote bravely, requires a great amount of information.

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, vote is marked as obsolete. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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