multicandidate

adjective

mul·​ti·​can·​di·​date ˌməl-tē-ˈkan-də-ˌdāt How to pronounce multicandidate (audio)
-ˌtī-,
-ˈka-nə-,
-dət
: involving more than two candidates
a multicandidate election

Examples of multicandidate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Senator Kelly Loeffler, the Republican appointed to replace Mr. Isakson, is in a multicandidate race with a host of other contenders. Jonathan Martin, New York Times, 25 Sep. 2020 Georgia’s runoff law was created in the 1960s as a way to preserve white political power in a majority-white state and diminish the influence of Black politicians who could more easily win in a multicandidate race with a plurality of the vote, according to a report by the U.S. Interior Department. Maya King, New York Times, 5 Dec. 2022 Senator’s win in a multicandidate field. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 18 May 2022 Coming out of the clandestine meeting, though, there was an acknowledgment that changes to the process are needed, perhaps lowering the number of signatures needed or instituting some sort of runoff in multicandidate primary elections to ensure majority support for the winner. Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 Mar. 2021 And in a multicandidate field, the challenge of winning 50 percent of the vote to trigger winner-take-all rules may prove daunting. Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 6 Mar. 2023 But, as Paleologos also noted, the 31% who still back Trump could be enough to win Republican primaries in a multicandidate field, which is how Trump won in 2016. David Lautersenior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 16 Dec. 2022 Runoff elections are a hangover from Jim Crow-era laws meant to diminish the influence of Black politicians who could more easily win in a multicandidate race with a plurality of the vote. Lisa Lerer, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2022 When the House decided the outcome of the multicandidate presidential election of 1824 in favor of the nationalist John Quincy Adams, Jackson supporters suspected corrupt machinations at work and cried foul. Sam Rosenfeld, The New Republic, 15 Feb. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'multicandidate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of multicandidate was in 1899

Dictionary Entries Near multicandidate

Cite this Entry

“Multicandidate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/multicandidate. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.

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