by-election

noun

by-elec·​tion ˈbī-ə-ˌlek-shən How to pronounce by-election (audio)
variants or less commonly bye-election
: a special election held between regular elections in order to fill a vacancy

Examples of by-election 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.
Both parties still have relatively few seats in parliament but have won recent by-elections and if opinion polls are to be believed, the British political system is about to be fragmented into four parties. Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025 But in a recent by-election, Nigel Farage’s populist, pro-Trump, Reform Party overturned a Labour majority of nearly 15,000 in Runcorn, a decayed industrial town, 15 miles upstream from Liverpool on the River Mersey. Stephen Collinson, CNN Money, 7 June 2025 The presidential by-election, which was triggered in April when South Korea’s Constitutional Court upheld Yoon’s impeachment, promises a return to stability, and South Koreans have turned out in record numbers for early voting. Jennifer Jett, NBC news, 2 June 2025 Recent public surveys show that governing and opposition party candidates are running neck-and-neck in a possible presidential by-election race. Hyung-Jin Kim, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for by-election

Word History

First Known Use

1853, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of by-election was in 1853

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Cite this Entry

“By-election.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/by-election. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.

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