abstain from a vote

verb phrase

  1. to deliberately choose not to cast a vote, especially in an official meeting, committee, or election

    B2

    formal; abstain from + noun or -ing form; often used as "abstain from voting" or "abstain on an issue"

    • "Two members abstained from the vote yesterday."B1
    • "She decided to abstain from voting because she did not know enough about the candidates."B2
    • "The committee chose to abstain from the vote rather than take sides."C1

Common mistakes

  • abstain a vote→abstain from a vote

    Use "abstain from" before the thing you are not doing.

  • abstain to vote→abstain from a vote

    The verb "abstain" is followed by "from", not an infinitive.

Collocations

abstain from votingabstain on a motion

Word family

abstainabstentionabstainer