tabulate

1 of 2

verb

tab·​u·​late ˈta-byə-ˌlāt 

tabulated; tabulating

transitive verb

1

: to count, record, or list systematically

2

: to put into tabular form

tabulation

ˌta-byə-ˈlā-shən 

noun

tabulator

ˈta-byə-ˌlā-tər 

noun

tabulation

2 of 2

noun

tab·​u·​la·​tion ˌtabyəˈlāshən 

plural -s

1

: the act or process of tabulating

the tabulation of results

2

: a result of tabulating : table

his aim was to gain international acceptance for this tabulation

—Roger Burlingame

Examples of tabulate in a Sentence

Verb

A machine is used to tabulate the votes.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

What turned out to be a razor-thin contest wasn’t called by the Associated Press until early Wednesday morning, after a delay in tabulating votes from Milwaukee. — Chantelle Lee, Time, 12 Aug. 2026

As a result, those ballots were tabulated but not included in the election night reporting. — Joseph Buczek, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026

This decentralization means Americans often have to wait longer for local election workers to tabulate votes, compile results and declare winners. — Stephanie Leiser, The Conversation, 12 Aug. 2026

After the 2020 votes were tabulated and the Electoral College cast its ballots, dozens of courts rejected election fraud claims for lack of sufficient evidence, and state officials from both parties certified the results. — James Robenalt, Vanity Fair, 27 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Latin tabula tablet

First Known Use

Verb

1734, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for tabulate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate
• angulate

Kids Definition

tabulate

verb

tab·​u·​late ˈtab-yə-ˌlāt 

tabulated; tabulating

: to count and record in an orderly way

tabulate votes

tabulation

ˌtab-yə-ˈlā-shən 

noun

tabulator

ˈtab-yə-ˌlāt-ər 

noun