Meaning & use
ballot
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A piece of paper, or an electronic form, on which a person marks their choice in an election or vote.
Grammar: Countable: she filled in her ballot; ballots were counted.
Patterns
- cast a ballot
- fill in a ballot
Voters put their ballots into a sealed box.
She marked her ballot in the quiet corner of the hall.
Some ballots arrived by mail after the deadline.
nouncountable or uncountable
The whole process or occasion of voting, especially in secret, or the total number of votes cast.
Grammar: Often countable with a: a ballot of members; uncountable in secret ballot.
Patterns
- hold a ballot
- a ballot on something
The union will hold a ballot on the strike next week.
The winner was chosen by secret ballot.
The motion passed on the first ballot.
verbtransitive
To ask a group of people to vote on something, usually by secret vote.
Grammar: Takes an object: ballot the members.
Patterns
- ballot members on something
The committee decided to ballot all employees on the new schedule.
Staff were balloted on the pay offer.
The club will ballot its members next month.
Word forms
| plural | ballots |
|---|---|
| third person singular | ballots |
| past tense | balloted |
| past participle | balloted |
| -ing form | balloting |
Common combinations
- cast a ballot
- Citizens lined up to cast a ballot.
- secret ballot
- The chairman will be elected by secret ballot.
- ballot box
- The ballot box was sealed at closing time.
- absentee ballot
- He requested an absentee ballot because he would be abroad.
- spoiled ballot
- A spoiled ballot is one that cannot be counted.
- on the ballot
- Two questions are on the ballot this year.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- balloting noun
- the process of voting
- balloted verb
- past form meaning asked to vote
- ballot box noun
- a container into which marked ballots are put
- ballot paper noun
- British term for the sheet on which you vote
Commonly confused: ballot or ballet? ballot or ballad?
ballot vs ballet
Ballet is a form of dance, and the two words only look alike.
ballot vs ballad
A ballad is a song or poem that tells a story.
Practice
Members will ___ on the proposal, and the result will be secret.
Choose one answer.
Ballot is a verb here meaning to vote by secret ballot. Ballad and ballet are real words but have nothing to do with voting.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ballot”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.