Poll is a short, single-syllable noun referring to a survey or a vote. It can also mean to question or vote in a survey. The term emphasizes collective opinion gathering and the act of polling a group, often for political, market, or research purposes. In everyday use, it appears in phrases like “poll results” and “public opinion poll.”
"The company conducted a poll to gauge customer satisfaction."
"Voters lined up to cast their poll as the polling place opened."
"The poll showed a clear lead for the incumbent candidate."
"We’ll poll the audience to determine which option they prefer."
Poll originates from the noun poll that historically referred to a head or headcount, derived from the Old French pôle and Latin pullus meaning young animal or chick. In English, poll came to mean a headcount or figure, especially in counting votes or people. The modern sense of a survey or voting process emerged in the 17th-18th centuries as literacy and civic processes expanded, and polling became a method to sample opinions or preferences. The word’s evolution tracks with the rise of organized elections and statistical inquiry, where aggregating opinions required a concise, easily said term. Early usage often described counting heads (polling the crowd) before it settled into the contemporary sense of a structured questionnaire used to infer public opinion. First known use in print appears in political and civic contexts in the 1600s, evolving through 18th- and 19th-century political discourse into modern polling practice in media and research.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Poll" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Poll" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Poll"
-ole sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce as a single stressed syllable with a dark, rounded /ɔ/ vowel followed by a light /l/. IPA: US /pɑl/, UK /pɒl/, AU /pɒːl/. Start with a bilabial stop /p/, open your jaw to a mid-back/low-back vowel, then touch the tip of the tongue to the alveolar ridge for /l/. It rhymes with ‘doll’ and ‘roll’, but keep the vowel tense enough to avoid sounding like /poʊl/ in American fast speech. Audio cue: listen for a crisp onset, short duration, and a clean final /l/.
Common errors: (1) Matching it to ‘pole’ with a long /oʊ/ vowel; use /ɑ/ or /ɒ/ as in ‘cot’ variant, not /oʊ/. (2) Turning /l/ into a dark or vocalized /l/ after a diphthong; keep it light and short at the end. (3) Overextending with a two-syllable feel in rapid speech. Correction: keep a crisp, single-syllable /pɑl/ with a clear alveolar /l/. Practice by isolating the final /l/ with a quick touch of the tongue to the alveolar ridge and release.
US typically uses /pɑl/ with a lax /ɒ/ or /ɑ/ depending on region; UK often /pɒl/ with a back rounded /ɒ/; Australian /pɒːl/ can be longer and flatter, with less vowel height contrast. Rhoticity is not a major factor here since the word lacks a rhotic ending. The main variation is vowel quality and length; Americans may shorten the vowel slightly; Brits and Aussies may maintain a slightly more open back vowel—yet all keep /l/ at the end. Accent differences stay subtle and do not drastically alter the identity of the word.
The challenge lies in the short, clipped vowel in a closed syllable and the final /l/ sound, which can be produced with a light alveolar contact or a more “dark” L depending on speaker and dialect. For non-native speakers, distinguishing /ɑ/ vs /ɒ/ and ensuring the /l/ remains light rather than vocalized is key. Practicing with minimal pairs and focusing on a crisp onset helps you avoid blending with nearby sounds or turning it into a longer vowel.
Focus on keeping the vowel compact and the final /l/ clear without an ensuing vowel. In connected speech, you may hear it reduced toward a near-syllabic /l/ in rapid conversation, but in careful speech, you’ll clearly hear /pɑl/ or /pɒl/. Ensure your tongue taps the alveolar ridge lightly for the /l/ and avoids vowel insertion after the /l/.
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