Meaning & use
bond measure
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableAmericanfinance
A proposal put to voters asking permission for a local government or school district to borrow money for a project by selling bonds.
Grammar: Countable: voters passed a bond measure; there are two bond measures on the ballot.
Patterns
- a bond measure for something
- vote on a bond measure
Voters approved a bond measure to rebuild the old elementary school.
The city put a bond measure on the ballot to fix its roads.
Opponents say the bond measure will raise property taxes for decades.
Word forms
| plural | bond measures |
|---|
Common combinations
- pass a bond measure
- The district hopes to pass a bond measure this fall.
- vote on a bond measure
- Residents will vote on a bond measure next month.
- school bond measure
- A school bond measure paid for the new gym.
- approve a bond measure
- Taxpayers approved a bond measure for the library.
- bond measure fails
- If the bond measure fails, the repairs will be delayed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bond issue
- It is the more general term for any sale of bonds, whereas bond measure stresses the public vote.
- ballot measure
- This covers any question put to voters, not only borrowing money.
- referendum
- It is a vote on any issue and is not always about money.
Word family
Commonly confused: bond measure or bond issue?
bond measure vs bond issue
A bond issue is the sale of bonds itself, while a bond measure is the vote that decides whether it can happen.
Practice
What does a school district ask voters to approve in a bond measure?
Choose one answer.
A bond measure is about borrowing money through bonds. Hours, contracts and holidays are not voted on this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bond measure”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.