casting vote
noun /ˌkɑːstɪŋ ˈvəʊt/
/ˌkæstɪŋ ˈvəʊt/
[usually singular]- the vote given by the person in charge of an official meeting to decide an issue when votes on each side are equal
- You have the casting vote.
- The chairman gave his casting vote in favour.
Word Originearly 17th cent.: from an obsolete sense of cast ‘turn the scale’.