vote Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a choice that is made by counting the number of people in favor of each alternative
    voting; ballot; balloting.
    • there were only 17 votes in favor of the motion
    • they allowed just one vote per person
  2. noun the opinion of a group as determined by voting
    • they put the question to a vote
  3. noun a legal right guaranteed by the 15th amendment to the US Constitution; guaranteed to women by the 19th amendment
    right to vote; suffrage.
    • American women got the vote in 1920
  4. noun a body of voters who have the same interests
    • he failed to get the Black vote
  5. noun the total number of voters who participated
    voter turnout.
    • they are expecting a large vote
  6. verb express one's preference for a candidate or for a measure or resolution; cast a vote
    • He voted for the motion
    • None of the Democrats voted last night
  7. verb express one's choice or preference by vote
    • vote the Democratic ticket
  8. verb express a choice or opinion
    • I vote that we all go home
    • She voted for going to the Chinese restaurant
  9. verb be guided by in voting
    • vote one's conscience
  10. verb bring into existence or make available by vote
    • They voted aid for the underdeveloped countries in Asia

WordNet

Vote noun
Etymology
L. votum a vow, wish, will, fr. vovere, votum, to vow: cf. F. vote. See Vow.
Definitions
  1. An ardent wish or desire; a vow; a prayer. Obs. Massinger.
  2. A wish, choice, or opinion, of a person or a body of persons, expressed in some received and authorized way; the expression of a wish, desire, will, preference, or choice, in regard to any measure proposed, in which the person voting has an interest in common with others, either in electing a person to office, or in passing laws, rules, regulations, etc.; suffrage.
  3. That by means of which will or preference is expressed in elections, or in deciding propositions; voice; a ballot; a ticket; as, a written vote.
    The freeman casting with unpurchased hand The vote that shakes the turrets of the land. Holmes.
  4. Expression of judgment or will by a majority; legal decision by some expression of the minds of a number; as, the vote was unanimous; a vote of confidence.
  5. Votes, collectively; as, the Tory vote; the labor vote.
Vote intransitive verb
Etymology
Cf. F. voter.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Voted; present participle & verbal noun Voting
Definitions
  1. To express or signify the mind, will, or preference, either viva voce, or by ballot, or by other authorized means, as in electing persons to office, in passing laws, regulations, etc., or in deciding on any proposition in which one has an interest with others.
    The vote for a duelist is to assist in the prostration of justice, and, indirectly, to encourage the crime. L. Beecher.
    To vote on large principles, to vote honestly, requires a great amount of information. F. W. Robertson.
Vote transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To choose by suffrage; to elec as, to vote a candidate into office.
  2. To enact, establish, grant, determine, etc., by a formal vote; as, the legislature voted the resolution.
    Parliament voted them one hundred thousand pounds. Swift.
  3. To declare by general opinion or common consent, as if by a vote; as, he was voted a bore. Colloq.
  4. To condemn; to devote; to doom. Obs. Glanvill.

Webster 1913