Meanings
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1
noun
A survey of people's opinions or voting intentions.
A recent poll showed strong support for the new policy.
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2
noun
(usually plural) The place where people vote, or the voting itself.
The polls close at eight o'clock tonight.
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3
verb
To ask people for their opinions in a survey.
Researchers polled a thousand voters before the election.
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4
verb
To receive a particular number of votes.
He polled a hundred votes more than his opponent.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From Middle English pol, polle ("scalp, pate"), from or cognate with Middle Dutch pol, pōle, polle (“top, summit; head”), from Proto-West Germanic *poll, from Proto-Germanic *pullaz (“round object, head, top”), from Proto-Indo-European *bolno-, *bōwl- (“orb, round object, bubble”), from Proto-Indo-European *bew- (“to blow, swell”). Akin to Scots pow (“head, crown, scalp, skull”), Saterland Frisian pol (“round, full, brimming”, adjective), German Low German Polle, Poll (“round object, ball”), German Low German Poller (“head, tree-top, bulb”), Danish puld (“crown of a hat”), Swedish dialectal pu…
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