electorate

noun elec·tor·ate \ i-ˈlek-t(ə-)rət \

|Updated on: 4 Aug 2018

Definition of electorate

1 : the territory, jurisdiction, or dignity of a German elector

2 : a body of people entitled to vote

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Recent Examples of electorate from the Web

Slate reported that the 14th district is heavily Latinx, with people of color making up 75% of the electorate.

— meagan fredette, Teen Vogue, "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Won New York's 15th District Reform Party Primary Even Though She Wasn't Running," 11 July 2018
But now, opinion polls show, the party has the support of only 40 percent of the electorate, down eight points from the last regional ballot.

— chris cottrell, The Christian Science Monitor, "Immigration deal saves German government, points to European future," 9 July 2018
But there’s no constitutional provision that says a statute signed by a governor must also be OKd by the electorate.

— george skelton, latimes.com, "Gov. Brown can largely blame himself if the state's gas tax increase is repealed in November," 28 June 2018
Gillum, on the other hand, still struggles with name recognition in a race where about a third of the electorate remains undecided.

— elizabeth koh and kirby wilson, miamiherald, "Tallahassee mayor's path to Governor's mansion runs through Florida's black community," 28 June 2018
The vote ultimately demonstrated a complete realignment of the electorate.

— Time, "The Most Surprising Aspect of Colombia's Election Wasn't Who Won," 20 June 2018
There are about 900,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans in New Jersey, though a plurality of the electorate is unaffiliated with either party.

— andrew seidman, Philly.com, "N.J. primary results: Garden State may be battleground in November," 5 June 2018
Donald Trump's candidacy was formed and sharpened by an angry and embittered GOP electorate who was sick of their own party, of Washington, of the media, of everything.

— chris cillizza, CNN, "5 takeaways on Michelle Wolf's hugely controversial speech at the White House correspondents' dinner," 29 Apr. 2018
Malas has said that no solution to the Cyprus problem is as dangerous as a reunification deal that’s rejected by the electorate.

— paul tugwell, Bloomberg.com, "Cyprus Presidency Goes Into Runoff Round as Economy Dominates," 28 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'electorate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of electorate

1620

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

ELECTORATE Defined for English Language Learners

electorate

noun

Definition of electorate for English Language Learners

: the people who can vote in an election

Law Dictionary

electorate

noun elec·tor·ate

legal Definition of electorate

: a body of people entitled to vote

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Spanish Central: Translation of electorate Nglish: Translation of electorate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of electorate for Arabic speakers

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electorate

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electorate

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electorate

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