ballot
noun
uk/ˈbælət/ us [ C ]
an occasion when people vote on something, usually in secret, or the system for voting:
The officials are elected by ballot.
About 45 percent of the state's 2.8 million registered voters cast a ballot in the primary.
The union is planning to hold a ballot for strike action.
[ C ] (UK also ballot paper)
a piece of paper on which you write your vote:
In Britain, the normal share of spoiled ballot papers in a general election is less than 1%.
[ C or U ] STOCK MARKET
a method of choosing which investors will get shares that are being offered for the first time, when the demand for shares is greater than the number being offered
ballot
verb [ I or T ]
uk/ˈbælət/ usto organize a secret vote by a group of people in order to find out their opinions:
The union said it would ballot workers over industrial action in a pay dispute.
Thousands of steelworkers are to be balloted for strike action.
STOCK MARKET
to choose the investors who will get shares that are being offered for the first time, when the demand for shares is greater than the number being offered