Election Day

noun

: a day legally established for the election of public officials
especially : the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in an even year designated for national elections in the U.S. and observed as a legal holiday in many states

Examples of Election Day in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The state accepts absentee and overseas ballots up to 10 days after the primary as long as they were postmarked by Election Day. — CBS News, 26 Aug. 2026 Mazzei did best with votes cast on Election Day, after Drummond had criticized the president’s plan to import beef to ameliorate the effects of his tariffs. — David Weigel, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2026 In the meantime, news of the court's decision has created new uncertainties for voters that state and local election officials must grapple with weeks before Election Day. — Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026 Some factors affecting the overall political environment, such as the impacts of the war in Iran on the costs of everyday goods and services, could shift before Election Day. — Charlotte Observer, 25 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for Election Day

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Election Day was in the 15th century

Rhymes for Election Day

See All Rhymes for Election Day

Browse Nearby Words

election cake
Election Day
election district
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Election Day.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Election%20Day. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of cogent

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All