bal·lot
(băl′ət)n.1. A sheet of paper or a card used to cast or register a vote, especially a secret one.
2. The act, process, or method of voting, especially in secret.
3. A list of candidates running for office; a ticket.
4. The total of all votes cast in an election.
5. The right to vote; franchise.
6. A small ball once used to register a secret vote.
intr.v. bal·lot·ed,
bal·lot·ing,
bal·lots 1. To cast a ballot; vote.
2. To draw lots.
[Italian
ballotta,
a small ball used to register a vote, diminutive of dialectal
balla,
ball,
of Germanic origin; see
bhel- in
Indo-European roots.]
bal′lot·er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ballot
(ˈbælət) n1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) the democratic practice of selecting a representative, a course of action, or deciding some other choice by submitting the options to a vote of all qualified persons
2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) an instance of voting, usually in secret using ballot papers or a voting machine
3. the paper on which a vote is recorded
4. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a list of candidates standing for office
5. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) the number of votes cast in an election
6. (Commerce) a random selection of successful applicants for something in which the demand exceeds the supply, esp for shares in an oversubscribed new issue
7. NZ the allocation by ballot of farming land among eligible candidates, such as ex-servicemen
8. NZ a low-interest housing loan allocated by building societies by drawing lots among its eligible members
vb,
-lots,
-loting or -loted9. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) to vote or elicit a vote from: we balloted the members on this issue.
10. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) (usually foll by: for) to select (officials, etc) by lot or ballot or to select (successful applicants) at random
11. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) (often foll by: for) to vote or decide (on an issue, etc)
[C16: from Italian ballotta, literally: a little ball, from balla ball1]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
bal•lot
(ˈbæl ət)
n. 1. a sheet of paper or the like on which a voter marks his or her vote.
2. the method of secret voting by printed or written ballot or by voting machine.
3. a round of voting.
4. the list of candidates to be voted on.
5. the right to vote.
6. the whole number of votes cast or recorded.
7. a system or the practice of drawing lots.
8. a little ball used in voting.
v.i. 9. to vote by ballot.
10. to draw lots.
v.t. 11. to solicit for votes.
12. to vote on or select by ballot.
[1540–50; (< Middle French
ballotte) < Italian
ballotta (probably < Venetian) =
ball(a) ball1 +
-otta diminutive suffix]
bal′lot•er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.