1
a
: a small ball used in secret voting
b
: a sheet of paper used to cast a secret vote
2
3
: the number of votes cast
4
: the drawing of lots
balloted; balloting; ballots
: to vote or decide by ballot
balloter
noun
Did you know?
When people voted in ancient Athens, they dropped pebbles into an urn. Similarly, when voting was done by the people of Venice during the Renaissance, secrecy was assured by the use of little colored or marked balls. The Italian word for “little ball” is ballotta, from balla, meaning “ball,” and the diminutive suffix –otta. Now any kind of secret voting, by ball, piece of paper, or voting machine, is called a ballot. So is the right to vote itself.
Synonyms
Examples of ballot in a Sentence
Noun
They cast their votes in a secret ballot.
She was elected by secret ballot.
Recent Examples on the Web
David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2024
An initiative needs 100,000 signatures to get on the ballot.
—Koh Ewe, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
An opinion that Sherman should have preserved the ballots could potentially give the sheriff a basis to investigate.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 12 Apr. 2024
That sets up the possibility that Trump, if convicted, could lose his right to vote while remaining on the presidential ballot.
—David Nakamura, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
Advertisement Joshua Spivak, a senior research fellow at the California Constitution Center at Berkeley Law, said the vast majority of recall attempts fail to make the ballot.
—Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
More than 500,000 signatures have been collected, well ahead of the July deadline to get on the ballot.
—The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024
The polling punctuated voters’ rejection of a tax increase measure on the 2020 ballot that would have changed Proposition 13, the iconic property tax limit approved by voters in 1978, by increasing taxes on commercial property.
—Dan Walters, Orange County Register, 9 Apr. 2024
The two referendum questions on the April 2 ballot came from a proposal authored by Republicans who continue to scrutinize millions of dollars in grants that helped Wisconsin clerks meet unexpected costs during the pandemic.
—Jessie Opoien, Journal Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2024
John Zenor, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2024
Recommended In historic case, justices look ready to return Trump to ballot
In short, policies that take money away from poor people often prevent them from transcending generational poverty.
—Courtney E. Martin, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Feb. 2024
These secret-ballot votes marked the most divisive party caucus balloting for speaker over the past three decades, rivaled only by Nancy Pelosi’s support from just over two-thirds of the Democratic caucus after the 2016 election to remain Democratic leader.
—Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 19 Oct. 2023
The 47-year-old Manning played quarterback at Tennessee from 1994-97, leading the Volunteers to an SEC championship and finishing second in the Heisman Trophy balloting his senior year.
—Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 14 Aug. 2023
Lamet, who finished fourth in National League Cy Young balloting in 2020, had a 3.72 ERA with 16 strikeouts and seven walks in 19⅓ innings with the WooSox.
—Alex Speier, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Aug. 2023
Mauer was a catcher who won an MVP and three batting titles, and finished in the top 10 in MVP balloting four times.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 21 July 2023
Gordon went on to deliver a sensational final two seasons with UW in 2013-14, capping it with 2,587 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns as a junior, en route to a runner-up finish in the Heisman Trophy balloting behind Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota.
—Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 18 July 2023
However, by early June, many health staff were still holding out for more, other rail unions were engaging in sporadic protests and teachers were being balloted on further walkouts during England’s next academic year, which begins in September.
—Tom Rees, Bloomberg.com, 10 Jan. 2023
Noun
The council is expected to decide this summer whether the measures will make the ballot.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2024
An initiative needs 100,000 signatures to get on the ballot.
—Koh Ewe, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
An opinion that Sherman should have preserved the ballots could potentially give the sheriff a basis to investigate.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 12 Apr. 2024
That sets up the possibility that Trump, if convicted, could lose his right to vote while remaining on the presidential ballot.
—David Nakamura, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
Advertisement Joshua Spivak, a senior research fellow at the California Constitution Center at Berkeley Law, said the vast majority of recall attempts fail to make the ballot.
—Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
More than 500,000 signatures have been collected, well ahead of the July deadline to get on the ballot.
—The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024
The polling punctuated voters’ rejection of a tax increase measure on the 2020 ballot that would have changed Proposition 13, the iconic property tax limit approved by voters in 1978, by increasing taxes on commercial property.
—Dan Walters, Orange County Register, 9 Apr. 2024
The two referendum questions on the April 2 ballot came from a proposal authored by Republicans who continue to scrutinize millions of dollars in grants that helped Wisconsin clerks meet unexpected costs during the pandemic.
—Jessie Opoien, Journal Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2024
Verb
Penix guided the Huskies to the national championship game and finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting behind another transfer quarterback, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, and one spot ahead of NIx.
—John Zenor, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2024
Recommended In historic case, justices look ready to return Trump to ballot
In short, policies that take money away from poor people often prevent them from transcending generational poverty.
—Courtney E. Martin, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Feb. 2024
These secret-ballot votes marked the most divisive party caucus balloting for speaker over the past three decades, rivaled only by Nancy Pelosi’s support from just over two-thirds of the Democratic caucus after the 2016 election to remain Democratic leader.
—Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 19 Oct. 2023
The 47-year-old Manning played quarterback at Tennessee from 1994-97, leading the Volunteers to an SEC championship and finishing second in the Heisman Trophy balloting his senior year.
—Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 14 Aug. 2023
Lamet, who finished fourth in National League Cy Young balloting in 2020, had a 3.72 ERA with 16 strikeouts and seven walks in 19⅓ innings with the WooSox.
—Alex Speier, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Aug. 2023
Mauer was a catcher who won an MVP and three batting titles, and finished in the top 10 in MVP balloting four times.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 21 July 2023
Gordon went on to deliver a sensational final two seasons with UW in 2013-14, capping it with 2,587 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns as a junior, en route to a runner-up finish in the Heisman Trophy balloting behind Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota.
—Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 18 July 2023
However, by early June, many health staff were still holding out for more, other rail unions were engaging in sporadic protests and teachers were being balloted on further walkouts during England’s next academic year, which begins in September.
—Tom Rees, Bloomberg.com, 10 Jan. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ballot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near ballot
Cite this Entry
“Ballot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ballot. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ballot
1 of 2 noun
bal·lot
ˈbal-ət 
1
: a small ball or sheet of paper used to cast a secret vote
2
a
: the action or system of voting
b
: the right to vote
3
: the number of votes cast
ballot
2 of 2 verb
: to vote or decide by ballot
Etymology
Noun
from Italian ballotta "little ball (used in voting)," from balla "ball"
Word Origin
Small objects have long been used as a means of tallying votes. In ancient Greece, a word for "pebble," psēphos, came to designate any voting token, and then to mean simply "vote," from the practice of dropping a pebble into one of two urns as decisions were made in public assemblies. In medieval Venice, small balls were used in public lotteries and elections; in one such lottery, members of the city's Great Council would draw gold and silver balls from vases to determine nominating committees for officeholders. The word for "small ball" in the Venetian form of Italian was ballotta, which was extended to other tokens used in drawing lots and voting, such as scraps of linen or paper. Familiarity with Venetian customs led to the adoption of the word as ballot in English.
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