by-election

or bye-e·lec·tion

[ bahy-i-lek-shuhn ]

noun
  1. a special election, not held at the time of a general election, to fill a vacancy in Parliament.

Origin of by-election

1
First recorded in 1875–80; by- + election

Words Nearby by-election

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use by-election in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for by-election

by-election

noun
  1. (in the United Kingdom and other countries of the Commonwealth) an election held during the life of a parliament to fill a vacant seat in the lower chamber

  2. (in the US) a special election to fill a vacant elective position with an unexpired term

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012