Definition of "plebiscite" [pleb•i•scite]

• A direct vote in which the entire electorate is invited to accept or refuse a proposal: The new constitution was ratified in a plebiscite. (noun)
• A vote in which a population exercises the right of national self-determination. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Thirty-seven million people trying to govern by plebiscite is ridiculous."
• "Anytime a plebiscite is held and the Haitians vote for independence, we go home."
• "It is a well-known fact that, in Uruguay, the regime called a plebiscite and was defeated."