casting vote
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The vote of the presiding officer when the votes of the assembly are equal. This final vote casts, turns, or deter- mines the question.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “casting vote” mean?
The vote of the presiding officer when the votes of the assembly are equal. This final vote casts, turns, or deter- mines the question.
Is “casting vote” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.