gallup poll

noun

1. a representative sampling of public opinion or public awareness concerning a certain subject or issue.

noun

1. a sampling by the American Institute of Public Opinion or its British counterpart of the views of a representative cross section of the population, used esp as a means of forecasting voting

1940, from George H. Gallup (1901-1984), U.S. journalist and statistician, who in 1935 set up the American Institute of Public Opinion.